Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread
by hounoNOtenshi
Summary: We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first. What if the past and the present collide? Who will you choose? Your first love where you gave it your all? Or the last where you're willing to give up everything? AU
1. Prologue: Body Language

**A/N: I got the title from the idiom: fools rush in (where angels fear to tread). It is something you can say when people do things without thinking about them enough. Like doing things on a whim and regretting it later. For the my other MiTSU story **_**What's Your Type?**_** I'm still in "loss of inspiration" state. T_T**

**Happy New Year!  
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They say you only have one heart because you can only love one person at a time. However, I beg to differ. Love can vary into a lot of ways. I believe that once you have loved, you can never, ever unlove that person. After all, you cannot just wake up one day free of all the love you had felt for this person—no matter how time flies. Crap! That made me itchy.

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**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Prologue

**Body Language**

"_You are everything I never knew I always wanted."_

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I watched you stuff clothes after clothes on your suitcases. Awkward silence filled the room—_our _room. For outsiders, the situation seems like some rip off break up scene from a romantic sappy movie. The girl stuffs all the clothes she can on one suitcase while crying, as her lover futilely stops the inevitable break up. However, this was not that kind of scene.

I closed my eyes, trying to shut all the feelings that are starting to pile up inside me. You glanced at me for a while, noticing that I was fidgeting on my seat for quite some time now. I noticed your gaze fall down on my hands that started to fiddle my ring that hung on the same necklace that you gave me. Some may be wondering why I am not wearing the ring on my ring finger. I have an excuse, quite reasonable actually, coming from you. It did not matter where I wear the ring. As long as I have it in me, it was what matters the most.

"_Mou. Why do you have to be so careless?" You asked me as we desperately looked for my ring on the heaps of sand below our feet._

"_Hehehe. Who was the one playing with my hand back then that I lost my ring?" I watched your mouth opened and closed as you try to formulate another counter on my statement._

"_I'm buying you a necklace once we find it. I'd rather see it hanging on your neck than you loosing it." You smiled warmly at me as our hands intertwined unconsciously. "We can both have matching necklaces then!" You beamed before kissing me on the cheek._

"_Eh~!" I whined as we look more. "I don't wanna wear it like that." I huffed childishly and you giggled._

"_Why not? That way I would not worry of __**you**__ losing it." You said, as you pulled closer to me. My short brunette bangs were mildly touching your face as I inched closer. I was taller than you by barely two inches. I remembered you throwing a small fit that I was now taller than you._

"_Your hair's long when it's down." You mused while you scrunched up your nose when you bumped into my eyeglasses, trying to close the gap between us._

"_You don't like it?" I asked curiously, staring at your enticing orbs._

"_Hm?" I watched you slightly shake your head. "I like it best when you hair's down like that." Our nose rubbed on each other. "I'm a little bit worried, though." You said as you lead me to the shore were we had been snuggling a while ago._

"_Why?"_

"_With you looking like that," you paused to give me a smile, "I will have a lot of troubles ousting swooning girls away from you." I chuckled at your sudden display of your possessiveness._

On our necks hung the white gold ring that signified our vows—especially our love. I found myself fiddling on the bond more so when you are away. I guess this was an assurance to myself. It was one of my ways that made sure what we have was not just my own imagination. That you were real.

"_Here you go." I peeked over my laptop to where you were sitting. You were holding out my ring that was dangling around the silver necklace you were holding. "Like this, you will never lose it. You don't even need to take it off." You said before I pulled you to sit on my lap._

Silence was still enveloping our room. Both of us were afraid to say our good-byes, but we knew it would happen no matter how much we prolong this. I finally stood up from my position to sit down beside you. I always liked being near you. It always made my cloudy feelings settle down. That was how immensely you were affecting me.

You smiled at me warmly when I came over beside you and offered you my help. You giggled pleasingly as you watched me struggled to fold your clothes sloppily and place them on one of your suitcases. My heart sank when I looked at the now half-empty walk-in closet that was once full of your gorgeous clothes and shoes.

You must have noticed my longing gazes as you reached up for my face and caressed my cheeks gently. I placed my hand over your hand, as I looked at you but soon found myself looking anywhere else but your eyes. I did not want you to see through me. I did not want you to have hesitations, just like I always do whenever this time comes.

I inched closer to you until our faces were just inches apart. I gently cupped your cheeks and kissed your succulent red lips. The kiss lingered for a while until we heard the knock on our door.

"I'm sorry." You said before placing another quick kiss on my lips. "I can stay if you want me to."

"Don't be." I assured you with a smile that I was okay with this. "Hurry now. They are waiting for you." I urged you to move as I noticed the time, your flight was scheduled just two hours from now. _I don't want you to leave._

"Take care of yourself." You smiled at me as I tucked the few strands of your long silky hair behind your ear. "I don't want to be worrying about your cute butt while I am thousand of miles away from you." You teased to lighten the mood.

"Mou! I'm going to be okay." I whined as I escorted you out of our_ home. _You were about to board the car when you stopped and looked back at me with those caring eyes.

"Be sure to get some sleep. You always get carried away when you're in front of your computer." You said as you unconsciously fixed my collar and held my face while looking through my eyeglasses. The truth was we have already discussed this the night before, after our lovemaking. Besides, it is not like it was the first time that we've been through this. You leaned your forehead against mine as I looked at you. I closed my eyes just like you did, savouring the small moments before parting for a long time.

"I'm going to miss you." You whispered.

"Me too." I smiled coyly at your display of affection.

"I love you."

"Un." I pecked your lips. "I love you too." I said as I captured your lips for the last time.

"I'm going to leave now." You smiled as you slowly back away from me.

"Un." I nodded. _No. Don't leave me._

I watched as you sit comfortably on the back passenger seat of our silver car. You looked at me once again, with your head popping through the small opening of the car window, as you beamed another smile for me. A smile that would last me for the times that you will be away.

_I don't want to be alone. _There were a lot of things that I wanted to say, but as always, I never found the heart to stop you. I always knew you _loved_ your job. And I would never get in the way of that. But I know you loved me too. So, why? Why can't we just be together like always?

If given a chance, I would gladly take the opportunity to go back in time. No. It was not so I can change something. It was so that I can experience all of the memories I had with you all over again. No matter how happy or sad that memory was, I would give anything just to get back during those times. The times that you were always with me.

_Don't leave me. _Wind blew against me as I stood there while watching the silhouette of your car get smaller and smaller until there was no more. _Samui [1]. Samui, _my love.

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[1]Samui- means cold as in the weather. Double meaning? ^^

**A/N: **Wow. That came out more serious than I intended too. Who can guess the pair on this one? I did not give much did I? *evil laugh* ^_^ I wasn't supposed to publish this new story. However, my mind changed when all I've been seeing updated was mostly K-on girls X male OC. Come on! What's happening to K-on yuri stories? Ahahaha.


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting You Is Inevitable

**Disclaimer: **I've got a few. But not K-on! One day, my friends. One day! And I shall share! Mwahahahaha ^_^ *ahem* that's creepy. Yuri in the hole! *boom*boom*

**A/N: This is AU so it tends to be OOC and there's OC, too. I got this idea after watching the Korean movie **_**My Little Bride**_**. Then I was like, "Hey! That would be nice." This was supposed to be my new Shiznat story but nah. I don't think the roles are appropriate for them. And I'm already busy with my Shiznat story **_**Hopeless Romantic **_**as it is. So I present you my new MiTSU fanfic!**

**As for my prologue. Hahaha. Been wondering who they are? It is for certainty that one of them is Ritsu. But wait! Who's the other girl? No. I'm not telling. YET. *evil laugh* Neither the time setting for that prologue. You'll see if it is something that WILL happen or something that already HAPPENED.**

**Zinthos XIII: **Yup it's a girl. And yes the main character for that prologue is Ritsu. About My What's Your Type, I know! Maybe I'll get to writing the next chapter. MAYBE ^_-

**Djyxa: **Yeah! Ritsu will be the tallest amongst the HTT in here. You cried? Oh no! lol I know. What's happening to K-on yuri. I'm always "under dosed". Lol

**Random Stranger Person: **No. It was not YuiAzu on that prologue… The only thing we know is that One of them was Ritsu. (As I indicated)

**Zmzn: **You hate Mugitsu? HAHAHA. I have no say in that. Lol

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**P.S: For those who read my other MiTSU story title **_**Enishi**_**. I deleted the entry. So yeah. lol**

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**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 1

**Meeting You Is Inevitable**

_"We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

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The bedroom was serenely quite albeit the sound of the second hand of the wall clock, hanging just above the huge plasma TV. White shiny glass shelves were hanging at one wall, carrying small glass works and a few light books. The whole room had black carpets, complementing the black lamps on each sides of the bed, and emphasizing the white bed frame. Just above the bed was a black and white wooden board, decorating the plain white wall. The room was neatly maintained despite the few articles of clothing that littered the floor, indicating what had happened the night before. Two lumps were evident under the black thin sheets. The only feat that was visible is the peaceful up and down movement of the bodies hidden underneath the warm covers.

Perturbing the silence was a soft beeping sound coming from the black phone sitting atop the bedside table. The unknown body started to stir after a minute of continuous beeping the phone was emitting. Slowly, brunette locks came out of the thin sheets. Her body was facing down on the bed as it sluggishly supported its upper weight by the folded arms in front of it. The sheets started to fall smoothly along the curves of the firmly toned yet feminine body that was covered with bite and scratch marks. She grunted softly as she blindly reached for the still beeping phone on her side. The screen displayed the time, indicating that the alarm was off. 7:30 am. In the background was a picture of four girls. One was evidently the brunette together with a girl who had long silky blonde hair. On their back was another brunette who had a much darker tone than hers, together with a young black haired girl in a low pony tail. The brunette groaned as she let her head plopped back down on the smooth, fluffy pillow with her eyes still closed.

She shut her eyes tighter as the alarm went off, trying to ignore the annoying beeping sound. After a few more beeps, the alarm went silent by itself. The only visible occupant of the extremely large bed opened her eyes slowly, revealing the enticing amber orbs behind its heavy eyelids. She lazily eyed the black phone on her hand behind her half-closed eyelids._ One message received. _The brunette stirred in the bed, positioning herself so that her back was now against the comfort bed. She brought her left hand over her eyes, trying to block off the radiating sun that escaped into her room. She brought her black phone up, reading the lone message that was sent to her. _Yui?_ Her finger tapped to its keypad, selecting the message from the one named Yui.

_Ya ho~ Ricchan! Don't be late for school._ The brunette chuckled to herself. Her high school friend sure changed over time. Who would have thought that she would be reminded not to be late by their very own goof of a friend, Hirasawa Yui?

The brunette slowly and sluggishly got off her bed, walking towards the walk in closet. Ritsu rummaged through her clothes, stopping after tens of hundreds of her clothes were already thrown anywhere on the closet. She nodded after looking at herself on the full body mirror. She was wearing a pair of ragged blue jeans and white tee with a printed "THE WHO" across its chest under a black cardigan. After inspecting her choice of clothing one more time, Ritsu walked over a small drawer, taking the lone black hair tie. Ritsu sighed in defeat after failing to tie her hair up in a low ponytail. Not one to give up so easily, Ritsu tried again and for the nth time, she successfully tied her hair up in a neat manner.

"Shit!" Ritsu cursed after looking back at her projected analog clock on the wall. It was already 8:15 in the morning and she needs to be somewhere at 9. Another course of curses were heard within the silent room as Ritsu tripped over her scattered shoes. "Dammit. Who put this in here?" Ritsu asked, looking around the luxurious apartment. "Oh wait. It was me." Ritsu grumbled. She had transferred in this apartment half a year ago. She transferred in a _much smaller_ place from that ridiculously large mansion she was staying at from after she graduated college.

The other body in the bed stirred after the loud crashes and heavy thumping of feet on the floor. Ritsu walked over the bed after she noticed the other occupant. "Hey!" Ritsu insensitively pulled the cover out of the bed, revealing a half-naked woman huddled on one corner. "You need to leave now. Uhm. Ah?" Ritsu paused, looking at the dirty-blonde stranger on her bed. "What was your name again?" She asked bluntly.

Tainaka Ritsu had always been the playgirl amongst her friends. The ultimate ladies' girl. She was certainly the epitome of a happy-go-lucky girl in her mid twenties. Last night was another one of her routinely escapades—a night out at the bar her friend, Hirasawa Ui, owns. Then if some girl were lucky enough, she would get to experience first-hand at how good they say Tainaka "Taicchan" Ritsu was in bed and if she were to push her luck, Ritsu would bring her directly to "Taicchan's" _humble_ abode.

"Mou, Taicchan. You're really forgetful." the blonde girl whined. "It's Saori. Sa-O-Ri."

"Hai. Hai." Ritsu shrugged, gathering the scattered clothes of Saori. "Here put this on." Ritsu forcefully pulled the girl out of her bed and pushed her into the bathroom. "Put this on, quickly. Then we're leaving." Ritsu ignored the pout of the girl.

_Gah. I should've listened to Azusa and stayed at home last night. My head's killing me._

"I'm ready." Saori walked over to Ritsu who was putting on her shoes. "Where are we going?"

"Hm? What do you mean **we**?"

"You said we're leaving." Saori answered, putting her own doll shoes on.

Ritsu sighed, no matter how she acted as a playgirl, she never had the heart to be mean to these girls. "**I **need to go somewhere. I'll drop you at the station so you needn't need to walk."

"Can we meet up again?" Saori asked hopefully at Ritsu. It was already a common knowledge that the Tainaka Ritsu rarely associates with other girls, but what's a girl to do but hope? "Maybe for tea or something?"

"I guess we could do that." Ritsu shrugged, putting on her Ray-Ban eyeglasses after contemplating on whether to wear her contact lens or not.

Saori squealed at the sight. "Wah. Megane Taicchan! I could just eat you up again!"

"Shu—Shut up." Ritsu blushed slightly. _Way to be smooth Tainaka. _"Come on. I hate to say this but I don't want to be late for my appointment."

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A black sedan car parked outside Sakuragoaka. It was already 8:30 am and the students were walking towards the large school building. A tall raven-haired girl stepped outside the black sedan. Some students stopped to greet her, making her flustered slightly at the attention she was getting.

"Are you sure you're walking home today? I can still pick you up later, Mio-chan." the middle-aged man behind the wheels talked.

"No, it's okay, papa. I can go home with Yuko and Emi today. You guys should not worry yourself over me," the 15-year-old Akiyama Mio said. "Have a safe trip!" Mio waved to her father, watching the withdrawing sedan car. Mio's parents would be gone for the rest of the year. It was not news to her though. Her parents would be always out of the country to do humanitarian works as members of Doctors Without Borders.

Mio was sitting four chairs away from the chalkboard. It had been a month since she started her first year of high school. The raven head was chatting with her childhood friends, Kawana Yuko and Tejima Emi animatedly when their math teacher, Kamakura Arin, entered the classroom.

"Good morning, everyone!" Kamakura sensei greeted and soon the students scampered back to their respective seats. "I need you to sign your name in this paper. Let's start with Kawana-san," she said as she placed a white piece of paper on top of Kawana Yuko's desk, "and I have an announcement to make." Soft murmurs erupted from the students. Whispers of "new student" were exchanged between seatmates.

"As you all know, Tanaka sensei will be on maternity leave starting today." Some of the students grunted while others did not really seem to care much about the missing 32-year-old teacher. "You are having a substitute until then."

"I wonder who the new teacher is."

"I hope he's some hot guy. Kyaa~" Kamakura sensei clapped her hands to capture the swerving attentions of the students before her.

"Hai. Let me finish first, okay. It's her first time teaching, so be nice to her."

"Her?" a student from the back asked.

"Oh man. Not some old hag." Another student sitting near the window grunted in disappointment.

"I know! They usually hire unmarried old hag, directing her unmarried unhappiness to us poor students."

"Hahahaha! That was mean!"

"How old is she?"

"This school needs some action!"

"Is she single?"

"Is she hot?"

"Can we eat now?" a longhaired brunette shouted loudly than she intended. All heads turned towards the girl who was sitting one row to the left behind Akiyama Mio.

"Eri-chan!"

"Taki-chan!" Taki Eri's classmates chorused at her.

"No you can't Taki-san! And class, be nice, got it?" the math teacher shouted while trying her hardest not to laugh at her students' curiosity and antics.

"Hai!" the student answered in unison.

"Sensei," Kamakura sensei addressed the new teacher who was standing just outside the door. Students started to chatter amongst themselves about this new teacher while others had their necks stretched out trying to catch a glimpse of the new comer first.

Students stopped all their businesses when a tall, lean young woman entered the classroom. In the room, entered a shorthaired brunette with her hair tied in a low pony tail. A few strands of her brunette locks were touching the black rim of her eyeglasses.

"Everyone, she will be your new Graphics teacher, as well as your substitute teacher advisor starting today."

"Wow." a blue-haired girl gasped loudly at the sight of their new teacher. The new teacher was wearing the unorthodox clothes for teaching—a pair of ragged jeans and a white tee under her black silk vest.

"Sasaki-san!" Kamakura sensei half-heartedly scolded the girl sitting at the farthest left of the class.

"Sorry." Sasaki mumbled shyly.

"Anyway, Sensei?" Kamakura sensei urged the new teacher to introduce herself.

"Huh?" the new brunette teacher looked at Kamakura sensei quizzically before realizing that she had yet to introduce herself. "Oh yeah! Ahem. " the new teacher cleared her throat when she felt the intense gazes the students were giving her. Her amber orbs were scanning the room when here gaze stumbled upon an alluring obsidian orbs looking straight at her. _Whoa._ The student had a light tinge of red on her cheeks before turning her head away from the sight of the new teacher.

"I'm Tainaka Ritsu." Ritsu said as she impishly scratched the back of her head. "Please take care of me." She grinned at the still quiet students. _Dammit! Yui, you owe me big time! And to think I ended up as a teacher considering I hated school. _Ritsu thought as the awkward silence shrouded the classroom.

_*ring**ring**ring*_

_Glasses clad Tainaka Ritsu tried to ignore the constant ringing of her phone and concentrated on the task at hand. _

_*ring**ring**ring*_

_Ritsu angrily grabbed the phone where the name 'YUI' appeared on the screen.  
"Yui?" Ritsu pressed the loudspeaker button as her eyes fell upon a certain picture in display on her office table._

"_Ricchan! How are you?" the girl on the end of the line beamed._

"_I'm good. I'm working on one of my projects right now. How about you, Yui?" Ritsu asked, still focused on her computer._

"_I have a problem!" a mouse click was heard from Ritsu's end._

"_Huh? What is it?" Ritsu glanced at her phone for a moment before going back to her computer, adjusting the third monitor of her four monitor set up._

"_I need your help. Will you help me?"_

"…" _Ritsu thought of the right words to say, she did not want to agree on her childhood friend's plea hastily. "…on what?" Ritsu said while typing like there was no tomorrow._

"_I need you to substitute for Tanaka at work."_

"_Tanaka?" Ritsu asked, trying to remember the name._

"_Yup! Tanaka sempai from Todai."_

"_No." Ritsu out flat rejected the request of her childhood friend._

"_What! Ricchan! Why not?"_

"_Tanaka's a teacher, right? So, No." Ritsu said coldly as she rummaged through mountains of paper loads on her desk. "Ask someone else."_

"_But Ricchan! Onegai~" Yui pleaded to Ritsu, her voice was starting to sound so Yui-like, whining. "Azu-nyan and Nodoka-chan can't, since they have work. Same goes for my Ui-chan. And __**she's**__ not here, so you're the only one left."_

"_I have work too, you know! And can't the school look for one?"_

"_I know! But it's not like you really go to your office or something." Yui mumbled selfishly, "You work at home most of the time anyway. And you just idle around during the day."_

"_What? Hira-sawa! I have a very busy work schedule, you know!" Ritsu emphasized each syllable of Yui's name as she glared at the phone. If Yui were just present, the other brunette would have received a choke hold from the great Tainaka Ritsu. "Fine!" Ritsu conceded at her friend's request after five minutes of continuous whining from Yui. No matter how hard she tried, she would always end up agreeing to the brunette anyway—especially when she does the teary puppy eye look—just imagining it defeated Ritsu's resolve to decline. Damn that Yui._

Ritsu's thoughts were pulled back to the classroom when she heard cries of "Sensei" and "Tainaka sensei". She even heard someone called her by her first name. And did someone just call her Ricchan?

"I'll leave the class to your care now, Tainaka-san." Kamakura said before exiting the classroom, "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah. You too, Kamakura-san." Ritsu flashed a smile on the teacher. Her smile widened when she caught a glimpse of Kamakura's slightly red cheeks. Ritsu's eyes stuck like a glue to Kamakura's retreating form. _Weetwew._ _Maybe this idea is not so bad after all._

"Sensei! Sensei!"

"Tainaka sensei!"

"Why did you decide to teach here?"

"Are you really a teacher?"

"How old are you?"

"Where did you graduate?"

"Are you an alumnus of Sakuragaoka, too?"

"What's your favourite food?"

"Color?"

"Are you in a relationship?"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Ritsu said as she raised her hands up in a surrendering fashion, chuckling at her newfound students. "Let's do introductions first then _you_ ask. First row on my left!" Ritsu beamed excitedly at the girls.

The girl sitting on the first seat of the row stood, "Kawana Yuko." Her long blonde hair was tied up to one side. _Whoa. What a pretty girl. Do high school students look like this nowadays? I did not look like that during my high school days. That was unfair._ To say that it was unfair was an overstatement. Tainaka Ritsu was one hell of a popular girl back during her high school days. Popular in a lot of different ways.

"Makigami Kimiko." a black haired girl that was shorter than your average 15-year-olds introduced next. _Whoa. She's so tiny. _

"Sakuma Eiko."

"Sasaki Youko." One by one, the girls started to introduce themselves to the substitute teacher.

"Sakei Mika desu!" a red haired girl said as she brought a peace sign to her teacher. Students and Ritsu laughed at everyone's unique and bizarre way of introducing their selves. The laughter died and changed to cheering when a certain timid raven-haired girl stood up from her seat.

"Ha-hajimemashite. A—Akiyama Mio desu." Ritsu mused at the raven-haired girl who was fidgeting at her place. _Why is she blushing? _Mio looked down on her table when she noticed that Ritsu was staring at her. Fighting the urge to look back to her teacher, Mio blushed instantly after meeting the gaze of Ritsu. _Moe?_

"Nakajima Nobuyo!" a girl with a huge body frame and husky voice shouted. _Wah. Scary._

"Tejima Emi, yoroshiku!"

"It was nice meeting all of you." Ritsu said after 38 students introduced their selves. "As I told you earlier, my name is Tainaka Ritsu. I'm 26. Believe it or not, I graduated from _Todai. _I'm not really an education major graduate, which answers your question if I am a teacher.I have another work, which I mostly do at home." Ritsu paused, looking around the classroom to see eager students listening to her. "And yes. I went for high school here."

Nobuyo was the first to ask, "Eh? How come you ended up teaching?"

"Well, I'm doing this as a favour to my childhood friend." A sigh escaped Ritsu's mouth. The rest of the class time went by with random questions coming from the enthusiastic students of class 1-2. The questions varied from her favourite food to what color of underwear she was wearing. Groans were heard from the students who flocked around the new teacher when the bell echoed throughout the whole school, indicating the end of first period. Tainaka _sensei _politely rejected requests to eat lunch with the students_. _Ritsu laughed heartily when she heard someone shouted, "Sensei, stingy!" as she stepped out of the classroom. _Teenagers._

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"Mio-chan~." Yuko said while placing a desk beside Mio.

"Hmm?" Mio opened her bento box, revealing 3 pieces of meatballs, tamagoyaki, a pork croquette and some rice.

"Wah! Tamagoyaki!" Emi beamed, bumping her shoulders with Mio in the process, taking a piece of tamagoyaki on her mouth. "Hmmmm! Delicious!"

"Ne, ne!" a dark haired brunette joined the three childhood friends. "What did you guys think of the new teach?"

"Tainaka sensei, huh?" Yuko answered for the girls.

"Kyaaa!" Mio jumped from her chair when another head popped right beside her. "You're talking about Tainaka sensei? Right? Isn't she cool? And she looks really young for her age! So hot and cool."

"I know, Mika-chan." Emi spoke, addressing the newly arrived girl, Saeki Mika. "I was really shocked when she said she's already 26. I thought she's just fresh from college or something."

"Wait till you see what she drives!" Mika excitedly said to her friends. Mika fortunately arrived the same time that the new teacher parked just a few blocks away from the campus.

"Why? What kind of car does she drive?" Mio asked out of curiosity. What's there not be curious about if all her friends were getting ecstatic about the new teacher?

Mika's eyes sparkled, "She's driving a silver BMW!"

Yuko choked on her tuna, "A freaking BMW?" The rest of the girls on the table cannot help but mutter a huge "wow".

"I wonder what she does for a living?" Mio asked again.

"Well, one thing for sure. A mere high school teacher cannot afford a super expensive car unless she came from a really wealthy family."

"Well, she did say that she has another job." Mio went silent, listening to her friends' chatter while her mind was actually wondering off to a certain new teacher. There was something about Tainaka sensei that made Mio's curiosity peak more. _What a mysterious teacher._

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Akiyama Mio sighed. Of all the days to rain hard, the almighty clouds decided to pour its all today. Mio was the only student left at Sakuragoaka. She had to stay to do classroom duties, while her friends had to go home immediately after class because of their own arrangements.

"I even forgot my umbrella. I should've taken the offer from my dad." Mio murmured to herself before sighing again.

"You shouldn't sigh too much. It's a waste of your beautiful face."

"Kyaaah! No!" Mio screamed at the top of her lungs upon hearing the invading voice from her back. Startled, Mio cowered over to one corner.

"Whoa! No need to shout so loud." Tainaka Ritsu looked around. "People might think I am doing something weird to you." She hissed.

"Se—sensei!" Mio stuttered after calming her still fast beating heart, slowly getting up from her place.

"Hahahaha. Sorry. I did not mean to scare you." Ritsu laughed at her student's flustered face. "No umbrella?" Ritsu asked, opening her own black umbrella. "Here," Ritsu offered the black umbrella to Mio, "Akiyama-san was it?"

"Huh?" Mio's eyes widened when her teacher's offer caught her off guard. "Yes. Uhm. No, I-I'm fine. I—" Mio waved her hands in front of her while backing slightly away from Ritsu.

"Take it." Mio blushed more when Ritsu took her hand placing the umbrella's handle.

"Eh? What about you, sensei?" Mio asked shyly. She did not want to impose on the new teacher.

Ritsu shrugged, "It's fine. I have a car. You can also keep the umbrella. It's a cheapo anyway!"

"Wai—!" Mio sighed happily, as she watched the fast retreating figure of her running teacher. She laughed when she saw Ritsu indiscreetly bumped into their strict head teacher. "What a child." Mio giggled while watching Ritsu apologise under the pouring rain.

Mio started to walk towards the bus station, bothering one last glance to her teacher before mumbling to her self, "I should get home before the rain gets hard."

**

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"Achoo!" Ritsu sneezed as she slumped on one of the bar stools of the still unopened _**Kallistēi**_ bar. It was a very long day for her. She imposed on the youngest Hirasawa's residence to take the long awaited shower after being drenched in the rain.

"Captain!" Hirasawa Yui beamed and playfully saluted the brunette who was squinting her eyes on the screen of her tablet computer.

Ritsu's mood immediately lightened up at the sight of her childhood friend, "Oh! My subordinate!" Ritsu humorously saluted the other brunette back.

Yui comically asked, "How was the mission?"

"It was good." Ritsu grinned. "Quite an interesting bunch, I say. But I've been memorizing _gazillion _faces and names the entire day already." Ritsu grimaced. She never liked memorizing things. Habits sure die hard, huh?

"I told you! Now you have the reason to come out of your freaking large place! At least 6 times a week!" Yui said dramatically. Ritsu had been caving on her luxurious apartment, refusing to go out during the day and would only go out during the night, "helping" Ui manage one of her pub.

"Yeah. Yeah. And my place is _not_ large." Ritsu chortled as she waved a hand to Yui who was already halfway done eating a large hamburger. "So, how are you?" _Wah. She still eats so fast._

"Well, compared to where you lived before of course it's small! I'm fine, I'm fine! Aren't you gonna eat, Ricchan?" Yui said as she stared at the hard-working brunette. She cannot help but giggle at the dramatic change on her friend's personality. Who would have thought that the high school girl who was undecided until her senior year and as lazy as a sloth can be and was labelled delinquent would be the same working passionate girl in front of her? The only thing that had not change was the fact that the girl still tends to play around with women.

"I already ate a yakisoba pan I got from the convenience store on the way here." Ritsu said while continuing on her work.

"You should eat healthier, Ricchan. You're gonna get it from Azu-nyan." Ritsu shuddered at the mention of the other half of the brunette in front of her. Despite being the youngest among the quartet, Azusa never failed to look after her _sempai_. Azusa and Yui had married three years ago. The rest of the gang gave a honeymoon trip for the couple at Paris. "Ne, Ricchan." Yui started slowly, thoughtfulness was evident on her voice. "How have you been putting up?"

Ritsu stared wide eyed at her friend but her expression suddenly changed softly. "I can manage." Ritsu smiled warmly at her friend.

"Really?"

"…"

Yui placed a hand on Ritsu's shoulder and said, "Just remember. We're here for you."

"I know." Ritsu's eyes softened.

"You should go home more often. When was the last time you went home?"

"I know. It's been almost a year, too."

"Oh, by the way. Mugi-chan called last night." Ritsu's ears perked at the mention of their other childhood friend.

A small smile formed on Ritsu's face. "Really. How is she doing?"

"She's doing better. She said she miss _**us**__._"

**

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CHARACTER PROFILE I:

**Name:** Tainaka "Taicchan" Ritsu 田井中 律 "Ricchan" to Yui,

**Birthday:** August 21

**Age:** 26

**Height:** 180 cm

**Blood Type:** B

**Occupation: **Substitute Graphic teacher for Sakuragoaka/?

**Character traits:** Can be really lazy at times, happy-go-lucky, outgoing, extrovert

**Other info: **Drives a silver BMW Z4

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**A/N: Oh no! Not another student-teacher fic! lol I actually wanted to write a fic where one of them is older. So yeah. Hahahaha *awkward laugh*And I also want to write a fic where Ritsu would be the "mature" one between the couple. I've seen Mio as the teacher, but I don't think I've seen one where Ritsu was the teacher? So? What do you guys think? Should I continue? Or just go hide on my cave and stop writing? Please R&R! It makes me happy. I would also appreciate suggestions and whatnot. ^_^**

**P.S. Any guesses on what the tie of this main story is to the prologue?**


	3. Chapter 2: Lovesick: One Step Closer

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I keep on forgetting to say that: Hey! Check out my website! Hahaha Here it is **_www(dot)wix(dot)com/hounonotenshi/tenshi_** Tell me what you guys think about it.**

**Zmzn: It was fast only because I've already written the chapter one and prologue. I just wanted to publish it in different days.**

**Zinthos XIII: I know! Well there was also a reason why Mio is 15 and not 16 or 17 or whatever. You'll see why. **

**Nani: I'm not saying anything more than what I already said in Chapter One. I did not mention any names on my prologue. However, I did confirm that one of them is Ritsu. I neither confirmed nor denied that the other girl was Mio. You'll learn later on who it is. I wonder if it's Mio? Lol Don't worry about the prologue. It will soon unravel as the story goes on. Your questions will be answered too.**

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**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 2

**Lovesick: One Step Closer**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

"_You are everything I never knew I always wanted."_

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Tainaka Ritsu groaned as the sound of her alarm ringing perturbed her peaceful and much wanted slumber. She had stayed up until three in the morning to finish a due project for later afternoon and it did not help that she was starting to feel sick. Ritsu huddled comfortably under the thin sheets, her eyes closed.

*beep*

Another beeping sound from her phone caused her heavy eyelids to flutter open. It was already eight in the morning and she needed to be at school in nine.

"Mmm… 5 mo' minutes." Ritsu sluggishly slurred to no one, only to shiver when the sheets that was draped upon her body was rudely pulled away. Just as she was about to drift back to sleep, the oblivious Tainaka Ritsu was very well unaware of the intruder in her home.

"Ritsu-senpai!" a female voice erupted from the small girl's mouth. Sounds bounced off throughout the whole master's bedroom. "Wake up!" the black haired girl insisted, shaking Ritsu's _dead_ body in the process.

"Go away." Said Ritsu childishly, battling for the sheets.

"No. You need to get up now." Ritsu slowly opened her eyes to look at the glaring girl. She was about a year younger than Ritsu. Her long silky black hair was tied on one side, emphasizing her small beautiful face.

"Azusa. How did you get in here?" Ritsu asked in a sleepy manner. Ritsu reached to her side, comfortably cuddling on a pillow. Nakano Azusa was one of Ritsu's childhood friends. Despite the fact that the girl was a year younger than the rest of them, Azusa had always looked out for her—as Ritsu had put it, the younger girl liked to meddle in her life.

"Spare key outside your penthouse." The black haired girl stated as a matter-of-factly. The keys were dangling on her right hand. "Under the rag, remember?"

"Oh. Right." Ritsu mumbled. Her enticing amber eyes were hidden behind the half-opened eyelids.

"Ritsu-senpai!" Azusa shouted louder when she saw Ritsu closing her heavy eyelids. "Come on! You need to get up! If you don't get off your bed soon, I'm gonna be late too!"

"…" Azusa sighed when the older girl ignored her. Having her eyes closed, Ritsu was ignorant of the smirk that was slowly forming on the other girl's face. Azusa leaned in slowly, tucking the black locks that escaped behind her ear. "Ricchan, wake up." Azusa whispered hotly at the brunette's ear, mimicking some other girl's voice. She immediately backed away with a grin on her face, satisfied at the effect.

"Azusa! Stop doing that!" Ritsu glared at her chuckling _kouhai_. "**You**! Are not allowed to do that to me. **EVER**." Azusa continued to giggle while Ritsu grabbed her beet red ear.

"I know _I'm _not. But well, it worked. You're up now!" Azusa beamed, pulling Ritsu's left arm. "Now, please. Get out of the bed and get ready for school."

"Yes, mother." Ritsu grumbled humorously but rather obeyed the younger girl easily this time. "You didn't need to come pick me up." Ritsu looked at Azusa before entering to the bathroom. Ritsu took note of what the younger girl was wearing. Azusa was wearing a white D&G long sleeved shirt with a matching dress pants and high heels. Ritsu smirked. After all those years, the black haired girl grew no more than ten centimetres.

"I've known you for as long as I remember, senpai. That is why I agreed to Yui."

"Hmmmm?" Ritsu peeked from the bathroom door with a toothbrush on hand. "About what?" she finished before disappearing inside the en suite.

"That I go make sure you're up and about for school, especially after how you looked like yesterday." Azusa paused, looking at the lone digital picture frame on the room. The frame mostly showed Ritsu on her younger days. Azusa laughed at the picture that showed a _chibi_ Ritsu grinning at the camera with her younger brother on the background. The Tainaka siblings were holding out cardboard swords. The next picture shown was when they were in college. Azusa saw herself with a certain Hirasawa Yui clinging on to her back. With them are Ritsu and their other childhood friend. _Mugi senpai._ The four were standing just in front of Todai.

"Maybe I should stay home today?" Ritsu asked hopefully, exiting the bathroom. Maybe the brunette could sneak in an early holiday?

"Huh? What are you talking about? You just started working in there." Azusa looked at Ritsu who was now fully dressed and ready to leave. The brunette was wearing a white FCUK shirt under a yellow cardigan that was rolled up until her elbows. Azusa could not help but laugh at how clumsily Ritsu had her hair tied up. "Come one. Stop being lazy."

"I really hate this." Ritsu sighed as she walked out of her apartment. "I should really get back at Yui for this." She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that _Ritsu?"_ Azusa asked.

Ritsu grumbled. "Nothing. I take it I'm dropping you off all the way to the laboratory?"

"Of course! I went to the trouble of waking you up, didn't I? Maybe you should pick me up after work too." Ritsu shook her head before sighing in defeat. How did the great Tainaka-sama ended up so _whipped?_ And don't forget the fact that Nakano Azusa was not even her girlfriend.

_Sigh. Maybe I should get a __**real**__ girlfriend?_

**

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**

"No worries if you suck at drawing. The thing I am grading is your skill and ability to tone—" Ritsu's speech was interrupted when the school bell rang, indicating the end of class. "Well, you heard the bell." Students started to pack up. "Don't forget that this toning assignment will be due in a week. You may all go now." Ritsu finished, walking out of the classroom of 1-2 with a heavy sigh. The new teacher was more than glad that school's over.

"Let's go to the club." Emi walked over to her packing friends, Mio and Yuko.

"Let's." Yuko answered before stopping. "Oh, hey. Did you notice Tainaka sensei was kind of out today?" Yuko asked her childhood friends. The new teacher, Tainaka Ritsu, started teaching the day before yesterday. Ritsu was beaming with energy during her first two days, even playing with her students during breaks. But today, the teacher seemed to be off.

"I know." Emi agreed. "It's like her energy was drained or something." The three started to walk through the quiet halls of Sakuragoaka towards their clubroom.

"Maybe she has some problems or something." Mio muttered quietly.

"Or," Yuko stated, "she's coming down with a cold. It's been raining non-stop since Tuesday. Good thing it's already Friday."

"Or maybe." Yuko paused. "She got dumped by a girl?" there was a moment of silence before Yuko and Emi laughed together.

"Yeah right. Have you seen Sensei closely?"

"I know! I bet she's dumped a lot of girls already." Yuko agreed at Emi's unvoiced opinion. Would you believe that the teacher got a love confession merely after a day teaching at their school? Crazy. Just crazy.

"What's wrong, Mio?" Yuko asked when she realised that Mio had stopped on her tracks. Mio was looking down in deep thought.

"Mio-chan?" Emi waved a hand in front of the trance Mio. "M-i-o-chan!"

"Eh?" Mio snapped out of her daze. "It's nothing. Let's go." Mio insisted, opening the door to their clubroom. Emi and Yuko shrugged at the absent-mindedness of their friend.

_I hope sensei's not catching a cold._

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Each step, her heart started to pound nervously. Immediately after their club activities were over, Akiyama Mio found herself in front of a certain Graphics teacher's small office. The obsidian haired student took a deep breath as she placed her hand over that doorknob, exhaling as she opened the hugged door slowly. Scanning the neatly arranged room, Mio found her teacher writing on the small white board.

"Se-sensei." Mio mumbled softly. Ritsu continued to write with her back faced towards the meek student. Mio cleared her throat and called out for her teacher louder this time. "Tainaka sensei?"

Ritsu turned around after the call. "Akiyama-san? What's wrong?" Ritsu asked Mio, placing the black whiteboard marker on her desk.

Ritsu raised an amused eyebrow as her student stared at her silently. "Akiyama-san?" Ritsu cannot help but smirk after her voice went unheard. She slowly walked up towards the obsidian haired student and leaned closer. "M-i-o-chan." She playfully whispered at her student's ear.

"Eh?" Mio snapped out of her trance. Blush slowly crept up to her face when she realised the distance between her and the Graphics teacher. She jerked back only for her back to find the wall. Their faces were merely inches away, causing Mio to go through five deeper shades of red.

Ritsu laughed at her student's behaviour before backing away. "Are you okay? Did you need something?"

_Sensei's breathe was so hot._

"What's that?" Ritsu asked when she heard Mio mumbled to herself.

"I-I ah—" Mio paused before rummaging through her bag. "Here. These are the forms you were asking for." Mio shoved the stacked papers to her teacher's chest.

"Oh. You should've just waited until Monday. I don't need it 'till Tuesday anyways." Ritsu said after chuckling at her nervous student. _Kawaii._ Ritsu thought as Mio continued to blush.

In all honesty, Mio was well aware that the teacher did not need the forms until next week. In fact, Ritsu had asked the papers on Monday. But after the talk with her friends about Ritsu before, Mio could not help but get worried.

"I-I just wanted to finish it today. So. Yeah…" Mio found the floor interesting when she heard her teacher freely chuckled. Fighting the urge to look back, Mio was in awe at the sight of her teacher. It was the first time today that Mio had seen the teacher laugh. Mio sighed in relief. _What? I think she's fine. Having me worried and all. Mou. Hehe. It's really nice seeing her happy—_ Mio's thoughts were interrupted when she realized that the teacher had stopped laughing, and instead was grinning at her. "Wha-what is it?" She asked cautiously.

Ritsu shook her head, smile still on her face. "Nothing. Did someone tell you that you're interesting?" Ritsu turned away from Mio. The brunette closed the laptop on her desk before placing it inside a black backpack. "Anyway, did your activities just finished now?" Mio nodded at her teacher's questions. "I see. Going home?"

"Yes." Mio replied meekly.

"Let's go. I'll give you a ride home as a thank you for the papers." Ritsu smiled before pushing the student out of her office.

"Eh? But—"

"No buts!"

The two walked through the quiet halls of Sakuragaoka. Students and most of the teachers had already gone home. Every now and then, Mio would glance sideways to her teacher, observing Ritsu intently. The younger girl took note of how firm and yet feminine Ritsu's body was. Mio mused at her teacher's height, her face, the way her teacher dressed. But the feature that stood out the most was her teacher's alluring amber eyes.

Mio felt her face warm up yet again when Ritsu opened the door for her. She felt the hot air radiating from her teacher. _Hot? _The two stopped in front of the stunning silver BMW Z4. Mio gaped in astonishment at the sight of the luxurious car.

"Let's go?" Ritsu opened the passenger's door for Mio. The student nodded before brushing with Ritsu as she got in the car.

"Sorry." Mio apologized when Ritsu slightly stumbled, leaning against the car for support. "Sensei? Are you okay?" Mio asked worriedly as she stepped out of the car. "You're flushed."

"Hehe. Sorry. I'm fine. I just feel a little…" Ritsu trailed off as her body slowly slide down. "Woozy."

"Sensei!" Mio leaned forward to catch her teacher, avoiding Ritsu to fall face first at the hard pavement. "You're burning." Mio stood up as she struggled to support the much taller girl's weight.

"Sorry." Ritsu mumbled, her face was resting on the nook of Mio's neck.

Mio could not help another blush coming when she felt the hot air caressing her neck. She bit her lip to prevent any unnecessary and inappropriate sounds from coming out of her mouth. "Sensei, stay here for a minute. I'll go get the school doctor." Mio assisted Ritsu inside her car. Mio was about to leave when she felt a hand gripped her right wrist. She turned around to see a flushed Ritsu looking up at her. "Sensei?"

"The doctor's not here at this time anymore." Ritsu said softly. Her breathing was getting harder and harder by the second. "Just call me a cab."

"But—"

"I'll be as good as new once I get a rest at home." Ritsu forced a smile to ease the worried student.

Mio nodded slowly. "Okay. But what about your car?"

"Thank you. I'll just have my friend bring it over tomorrow." Ritsu mumbled as she closed her tired eyes.

**

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"..sei."

"..aka-sensei."

"Tainaka-sensei." Ritsu stirred awake by the shaking. She slowly opened her heavy eyes to find a worried Mio looking at her.

"Huh?"

"We're inside the building now." Mio answered behind amusement. The teacher was slumped beside her, half-conscious.

"Oh. Thanks."

"What floor are you?"

"Top." Ritsu answered curtly as Mio ushered her inside the elevator. Mio fidgeted uncomfortably under her teacher. Mio swore that if any of her classmates known of this event, she would never have a quiet year at school. Ritsu had been around the school for a few days only, and yet, the teacher unexpectedly or expectedly got along with the students.

*ding*

The elevator door opened as the two reached the top floor of the building. Mio looked left and right to decide which direction was the way to her teacher's apartment. She mused when she realised that there was only _one _door in the whole top floor.

"Sensei." Mio called her teacher softly, not wanting to startle her. "Where's you key?"

"Unggghh? Pocket."

"Eh?" Mio shouted in shock making Ritsu wince. She accompanied her teacher all the way to Ritsu's home, blushing numerously whenever Ritsu would unconsciously cuddle near her. And now the brunette want her to fish the keys from her pocket? There's only so many times a young 15-year-old high school girl could take all the blushing. "Fine." Mio grumbled with closed eyes as she tried to look for the keys on her teacher's pocket. Mio sighed in relief after a few seconds of rummaging thtough her teacher's jean pocket.

"Whoa." Mio gaped in astonishment as both of them entered the luxurious penthouse. "Ah. Sorry." Mio apologized when she heard Ritsu groaned in tiredness.

**

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**

"Just where is it." Mio grumbled to herself as she found all of the opened cabinets empty. "Doesn't she eat?" Mio mumbled to herself more before walking towards the pantry. To say that Mio was surprised was an understatement. Inside the large pantry was nothing but packed instant noodles of different flavours. "She only eats this? Mou." Mio grabbed the boiler she saw before and began to boiled some water for the instant noodles. She was observing the room when she heard the phone ringing.

"Uuuuu. Am I supposed to answer this?" Mio asked herself as she looked at her teacher's home phone. The phone stopped ringing after a while. She was about to walk back into the kitchen when the phone started to ring again. Thinking that it was something important, Mio answered the call.

"_Ricchan! Look I—"_

"Sorry! But I-ah." _She has a nice voice._

"_Huh? You're not Ricchan."_ The voice at the other end of the line said in slight disappointment.

"Sorry. She's actually sleeping right now. She caught a fever."

"_Oh. Is she-is Ricchan all right?"_

"She's resting right now."

"_Sigh. Good. That's good. Well then Uhm—"_

"Akiyama desu."

"_Akiyama-san, are you Ricchan's…"_ the girl on the line trailed.

"Eh? No! No. No. I'm just. Ah. I'm her student and I just happened to be there when she aahm." Mio answered defensively.

"_Student? I see. Thank you for taking care of Ricchan."_ Mio swore she heard a relieved sigh from the girl before hearing another voice at the end of the line. She assumed that the other person was calling the girl she was talking to. _"I'm sorry but I have to go now. Please just tell her that I called."_

"Okay. Uhm. May I know who's this?"

"_I'm he—just tell her a friend called. Thank you."_ The girl hung up, just in time when Mio heard the water finished.

"I wonder who that is." Mio asked nobody as she poured the steaming hot water into the instant cup. "Maybe she's sensei's… No, no." Mio shook her head. "But she looked relieved when I told her I was sensei's student."

**

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**

"Don't leave." Mio stopped in her tracks after hearing the soft hoarse voice of her teacher. She was about to leave after making sure Ritsu had drank medicine after eating.

"Please don't leave me." Ritsu mumbled yet again as her hands reached towards Mio. Mio's eyes softened when she saw the troubled look on Ritsu's sleeping face.

"Are you awake?" Mio tiptoed towards the side of the bed.

"I don't want you to leave."

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm not leaving." Mio assured the sleeping brunette as she wiped off some of her teacher's sweat.

"I don't want to be alone." Mio froze after hearing this. She looked around the room and thought back when she first entered the apartment. She did not see anyone else inside. Has her teacher been living alone at this spacious apartment?

Mio looked back at Ritsu before murmuring. "I'm here. You won't be alone."Mio leaned closer to the panting Ritsu's face. Mio' eyes spotted Ritsu's slightly opened mouth. Mio gulped audibly as she leaned closer.

_Just what am I doing._

Her eyes closed slowly as she altogether close the gap between her and the sleeping Graphic teacher.

**

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CHARACTER PROFILE II

**Name:** Akiyama Mio秋山 澪,,

**Birthday:** January 15

**Age:** 15

**Height:** 160 cm

**Blood Type:** A

**Occupation: **First year high school student

**Character traits:** Shy, gets excellent grades in school, strict, gets embarrassed easily, and cowers at any scary or painful stories.

**Other Info: **Childhood friends with Kawana Yuko and Tejima Emi

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**A/N: This sucks. hahaha. I'm not really good at slow paced stories. I'm trying my best though! please R&R and don't forget to visit my website! Oh and there's a poll on my profile if you haven't voted yet.**


	4. Chapter 3: I Am So Not Into You

**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 3

**I Am So Not Into You**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

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**

Ritsu woke up from the sounds of birds chirping by her windowsill. She sluggishly propped herself up from the bed, taking in her surroundings. The brunette scrunched her eyebrows in bewilderment. Ritsu did not have the slightest idea how she got home in the first place. This situation was something not unusual for the brunette. She looked down at herself, observing her body, like it was some routine every morning during the weekends.

_Fully dressed._

Her amber orbs then travelled to the bed, a sigh of relief escaped her mouth when no one was in the bed this time.

_Okay. I don't have any recollection about last night. But I don't think I got drunk. No hangovers. No girls either. So that's good. Yes. Good. But god, I feel drained._

Ritsu's train of thoughts were interrupted when she heard some clashing sound outside her room. The immediate response her body made was to freeze while sitting atop the huge bed.

_Okay. Scratch that. I brought someone home with me last night._

Ritsu slowly got off of her bed and walked out of the master's bedroom. She looked to her right where her living room was located together with one more room. _None_. The noise stopped for a moment before the rattling began again. Following the jangling noise, Ritsu looked at her left. She trudged down the hall, passing through another room and into the kitchen. Her perfectly shaped brown eyebrows rose in both amusement and interest.

_Dare? [1]_

Before her was a raven-haired girl much shorter that she is. She had her back faced towards the owner of the penthouse, oblivious to the curious amber orbs that were watching her in amusement. Ritsu cannot help the smirk that was slowly forming on her face as she crept towards the still unaware teenager.

_Oh. It's the moe moe girl from my class._

Ritsu snuck on the girl's back and shouted, "Boo!"

"Kyaaaaa~~" Mio screamed at the top of her lungs, flinging backwards after the startling scream, resulting the high school student to fall butt first on the hard cold tiles. "O-o-ouch." Mio wailed as she rubbed her sore butt. Ritsu laughed at her yowling student, earning a rightful glare. "Why don't you help me out instead of laughing?" Mio hissed at her teacher.

"Hahaha. Sorry," Ritsu stopped laughing and looked down at Mio. "Here." She offered the teen a hand with a huge grin on her face.

_I swear she grins too much. _Mio was about to take the offered hand when she stopped midway. Her heartbeat started to race at the recollection of a certain night. "Actually it's fine," Mio said as she felt her face heat up. "I can stand up on my own," Ritsu raised and eyebrow at her student's behaviour. _PMS?_

"_I don't want to be alone." I froze upon hearing these lonely words coming out from the usually jolly teacher. My thoughts then came back to when I first entered the overly spacious apartment that Tainaka sensei owns. I assumed that she was living with someone by the number of rooms and spacious place she had. But then again, I saw no one even after I fixed something for her to eat. I cannot help but wonder if she had been living along in this roomy space._

_I looked back at her. Her face was still flushed from the fever. "I'm here. You won't be alone." I murmured. I don't know what had gotten into me to say those heavy words. Suddenly, I found myself leaning closer to my sleeping teacher. Tainaka-sensei was slightly panting. Her forehead also started to sweat again. This was the first time I had seen my teacher so different. Different from the usual cheeky teacher at school. She looked so… so vulnerable. My eyes travelled further, stopping just at her ajar lips. I gulped audibly as I leaned closer. Just what am I doing? I closed my eyes as I closed the gap in between us. More. Our lips were barely inches apart when I heard her groan._

"_Ungh." I immediately jerked back in shock. I froze there looking idiotically startled like some deer caught in headlights. I sat there motionless as I eyed her carefully; looking for any signs that she was awake. She stirred in her sleep and face towards the opposite direction but not before murmuring something. I leaned closer yet again, trying to catch what my Graphics teacher was saying in her sleep to no avail. When she finally faced her back towards me, I sighed. Good. She was still asleep. But bad. This is very bad. And I mean very, very, VERY bad. I just tried to kiss my teacher! In her sleep nonetheless! When she was vulnerable. I swore she could hear my heartbeat. _

_I slowly backed away from the bed. I glanced at her form and sighed. I am so not into my Graphics teacher. Right? I was just caught up in the moment. Nothing more. Yeah. That's all._

Another chortle interrupted Mio's little recollection of what happened last nigh. She looked towards the source and found the brunette chuckling.

"What?" Mio glared at her teacher when she did not show any signs of stopping at any moment now.

"Nothing," Ritsu shook her head. The wide grin was still plastered on her face. "Why are you so red?" Ritsu cannot help but tease her timid student. Mio had always been a quiet one in class. But it never ceased to amaze the brunette at how popular the first year student was, not only in class but the whole school. Imagine her reaction when she was walking through the halls of Sakuragoaka and all she can hear was rumours and chats about a certain 'Mio-tan'.

Mio chose to ignore her teacher's remark and continued on what she was doing before being rudely interrupted by a certain brunette. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Huh?" Ritsu looked at Mio in confusion. "Uhm. Yeah?"

"That's a relief," Mio mumbled softly.

"What?" Ritsu bellowed when she thought she heard Mio spoke.

"Nothing, just go and seat. Lunch will be ready in 10," Mio stated without looking at Ritsu. Ritsu stared at Mio for a while before she obeyed the younger girl.

_Did I just get ordered at my own home?"_

**

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**

"Ah!" Ritsu stretched. "Gochisosama," Ritsu watched Mio clean up the table. Both were silent during the meal and Ritsu pondered what she had done to the raven-haired girl to earn those glares. "Ne, Mio-chan."

"What?" Mio answered, not commenting on the all too familiar use of her first name.

"What are you doing at my house?" Ritsu asked blatantly making the much younger girl look at her incredulously.

"What do you mean what?" Mio looked at Ritsu who just looked plainly and honestly clueless. "You mean you have no idea what happened last night?" Ritsu felt her body stiffened immediately after the words left Mio's mouth.

Oh, the horror. The all too familiar line of "You mean you have no idea what happened last night?" Just how many times and from how many girls Ritsu had heard that line? Ritsu slowly turned her head towards her student.

"Wh-why?" Ritsu started slowly. Her voice cracked. "Wha-what ah. Happened last night?" Ritsu tilted her head as she looked at Mio. Colors immediately drained out of her face when she noticed what Mio was wearing. _Oh shit. NOW I'm really getting it from Azusa._ Amongst her friend, Azusa was the one hesitant about Ritsu's escapades while the others said that it was one of Ritsu's ways to divert her mind from certain _things_. _I don't wanna go to jail._

"Wh-why are you wearing my clothes?" she asked making Mio stop washing the dishes and look at her hysteric teacher. "Why am I in my sleeping clothes? I don't remember changing into these clothes last night!"Ritsu's home phone began to ring. The ringing sound went through unhearing ears as her voice continued to get louder each question. "Why—"

*beep*

Ritsu's bombing of questions was disrupted when her answering machine beeped. The two people in the kitchen stopped all their doings to listen.

"_Ne, Taicchan, where were you last night? I was waiting for you at my room."_ Ritsu's eyes went wide once she realized how the girl had called her. _Taicchan_. Her amber orbs threatened to fall off from its socket. _"I had something prepared for our role—"_

"Waaaaaaaaahhhhhh!" Ritsu screamed, _censoring_ any words that would come out from the answering machine to her minor student. She dashed towards the phone, barely avoiding to trip on herself.

"He-hey!" Ritsu greeted the girl on the other end of the line. She then looked at Mio who was now staring questioningly at her. _Oh great. Now she must think I'm weird._

"Huh? Oh yeah. Uhm... I'm kind of busy… Yeah… No! You can't… Okay… Bye." Ritsu hung up after the short exchange with the mysterious girl on the phone. Ritsu swallowed the big lump on her throat before walking back towards Mio who just finished washing the dishes. "Sorry about that." She mumbled. "Where were we?"

"Last night?"

"Oh yeah." Ritsu cleared her throat nervously. "So? What exactly happened?" Ritsu carefully listened to her student's explanation. Everything came back into mind when she remembered collapsing by her car. _I guess I'll have Yui get my car. _Ritsu said to herself but suddenly shook her head when she pictured Yui driving her precious BMX. _On the second thought, I'll have someone else drive my car. _

"Bu-but I am in my sleeping clothes. Did you uhm." Ritsu stuttered when she suddenly remembered what she was wearing.

"Huh? No! I ah." Mio frantically shook her head when she caught up to what Ritsu was trying to say. "Nishikigi-san, the lady living downstairs, saw us last night and she was the one who changed your clothes." Mio awkwardly stated. Ritsu nodded at the mention of the much older woman, Nishikigi-san. Ever since Ritsu moved in the apartment, Nishikigi-san had been looking after her. Nishikigi-san always treated Ritsu like her own granddaughter.

"And I'm sorry I used your clothes without asking." Ritsu looked at Mio. She was wearing Ritsu's white graphic t-shirt that appeared baggy at Mio's slender body while Mio was already wearing her school skirt.

"What's wrong?" Mio asked Ritsu when she heard her teacher sigh.

"Hmm? Nothing." Ritsu smiled at her. "Thank you for taking care of me. You didn't have to stay for the night, you know." Ritsu impishly scratched the back of her head.

Mio suddenly felt a pang of sadness when she remembered the words her teacher had unconsciously muttered last night. "It's okay. I can't leave you like that. Especially since I'm the one to blame that you got sick. Uhm. Sensei?" Mio glanced at Ritsu who was busily reading something. "Do you live alone here?" Mio asked after she got a hum from Ritsu. Mio immediately regretted saying the words that came out from her mouth when she noticed her teacher stiffened at her question. "It's ok you don't—"

"Yeah. I live alone." Ritsu answered softly. "Anyway, why would you think that you're the reason I got sick?"

"Well," Mio paused shyly not bothering to comment on her teacher's reaction to her question. "You gave me your umbrella last time and you got soaked under the rain. So, yeah."

"It's no big. Hey, won't your parents get worried?" Ritsu looked at Mio who was already putting her shoes on. "That you stayed out last night, I mean."

Mio nonchalantly stared back at the taller woman. "No. They're not here anymore."

"Oh? Sorry," Ritsu apologized upon hearing about the teenager's family status.

"No! No, no. I mean they are out of the country. They just left when you started teaching at school. They'll be gone till the end of the year, I assume. They're Doctors Without Borders."

"Oh. I see. That's good. That they're alive I mean. Wow, your parents are both doctors. Are you living with a relative?"

"Yes. I'm living with my mom's cousin." Mio said, her hand was on the doorknob. "Well, I need to go now. I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you." Mio bowed deeply in front of her teacher.

"I can give you a ride home." Ritsu walked over to Mio, grabbing her set of keys. "This time I will definitely bring you at your place."

"But we left your car near school." Mio looked at Ritsu who just finished putting her sneakers.

"It's fine. It's fine." Ritsu pushed the hesitant girl. "I've got another ride."

**

* * *

**

The two were quiet all the way down the lift. Mio was slightly fidgety while Ritsu seemed to be musing on something when the elevator door opened.

"Oh! Ritsu-san, good afternoon." A young woman in her mid-twenties greeted Ritsu. She nodded at Mio when she noticed the raven-haired girl standing beside Ritsu.

"Ah, good afternoon, Miyako." Ritsu acknowledge the young black haired woman.

"_Kanojo_?" She asked Ritsu, after noticing that there was another occupant in the elevator, who seemed to be with Ritsu. "I heard you're always out in the morning." Miyako stated, not bothering to hear Ritsu's answer on her earlier question.

Ritsu just chuckled at the curiosity of her neighbour. "Yes. My friend asked me to substitute for work." The ride down the building was slow, for Mio anyway. The two adults chatted animatedly with each other while Mio just stood behind Ritsu quietly.

*ding*

The elevator door opened once they reached the third floor, revealing another young adult, years older than Ritsu. "Ara! What a pleasant surprise to meet you here, Ritsu," the blonde woman greeted Ritsu. "Miya, it's been a while, too. Going somewhere?"

"Yes, I'm just going out for a while." Miyako answered.

"I see. Oh!" the blonde beamed when she saw Mio on the corner. "Hello there!" Mio instinctively hid behind Ritsu, earning a chuckle from the rest of the occupants of the elevator. "What a shy girl you've got there, _Taicchan,"_ she winked suggestively at Ritsu.

"Sa-Sanae-san!" Ritsu blushed at the use of her infamous pet name.

"Fufufufu. I'm sorry. Sorry. It's just been a while since you attended my dinner invites that I missed to tease you," Sanae paused, eyeing Mio once more. "The girls are getting younger and younger every time, Ritsu," Sanae said, apparently aware of the brunette's activities during Friday nights for that matter.

_Eh? Is she referring to me? What? What did she mean by tha—_

Ritsu frantically waved her hands in front of her. "That's not it!"

"Hmmmm," Miyako cooed, "if you say so, _Taicchan_," humour was evident at the women's voice.

"Mou! I. Told. You. That's not how it is!" Ritsu frustratingly denied the suggestive tones of her friends. The poor brunette was nearing the state of pulling her hair out of her pretty head, while the subject of their discussion stood there silently, trying to mind her own business.

"What's your name?" Sanae asked, startling the lone teenager.

"Ih! Mio. Akiyama Mio," Mio mumbled softly.

"How did you meet Ritsu-san?" Miyako asked curiously. Ever since she stepped in the small space, she'd been wondering what relation the raven haired girl had with Ritsu.

"I ah—"

*ding*

The elevator door opened after reaching its main floor, effectively cutting what Mio had to say.

"Oh! That's our cue," Miyako said. "I'll see you later _Taicchan. _Mio-chan too!" the rest watched the tall girl disappear to one of the hallways.

"Fufufu. I guess I'll have to leave too. It was nice meeting you Mio-chan. Ritsu, come over to my place later." Sanae winked suggestively which went noticed by Mio.

"Sanae-san! Stop saying things that could be easily misunderstood!" Ritsu half-heartedly scolded the older woman who began hopping away from the fuming Ritsu and astounded Mio.

"Hehehehe," Ritsu laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "I'm sorry about them. Just ignore what they said."

_Those two! They always tease me every chance they get!_

**

* * *

**

"Here. Wear this." Ritsu pulled Mio out of her reverie when she threw a helmet without notice.

"Uhm? We're riding that?" Mio asked, pointing at the yellow BMW sport bike.

"Yeah, why?" Ritsu asked as she straddled the yellow motorbike with a black helmet on hand.

"Gochisosama!" Mio bowed deep at Ritsu. "Yosh!" she immediately turned around towards the door with the helmet still on her hand.

"O-oi! Where are you going?" Ritsu asked when Mio suddenly walked away from her.

"I-it's okay. I can just ta-take the bus h-home."

Ritsu raised an eyebrow at her student's antics. "But I said I can give you a ride."

Mio looked at Ritsu then to the motorbike behind her teacher then back to the waiting brunette. "I don't want to trouble you." Mio answered nervously.

"Hmmmm?" Ritsu smirked when she realized the reason why Mio had suddenly changed her mind. "Fine," Ritsu reached her hand for her helmet. "We'll take a car then. Is that fine?"

"You have another car?" Mio screamed, immediately clamping her mouth with her hands. "I mean, you have another car?" Mio asked, this time softly.

"Yeah?" Ritsu tilted her head in confusion. "We'll take this." Ritsu walked towards the white Audi sports car. "I don't really use this much because of my job. But well, I guess we have no choice but to take this." Ritsu pressed a button in her remote car.

Mio cannot help but stand there in awe. It was already a knockout that Ritsu owned a luxurious car, but to have another one? Just where the hell does she get all those money to buy not one, not two, but three expensive vehicles?

"Hello?" Ritsu waved her hand at Mio. "I'm gonna leave you behind if you just stand there," Ritsu chuckled before entering the white car.

"Sorry," Mio mumbled before getting in the car herself.

**

* * *

**

"Is this it?" Ritsu asked as she pulled over a contemporary detached house. "Wow. You're family is loaded."

Mio looked at Ritsu like she had grown another head. Ritsu was musing over a simple house while the girl herself lives in a rather large luxurious penthouse by herself. Not to mention the teacher also owns three expensive and lavishing vehicles. "It's not ours. It's my mom's cousin's house."

"I did not say it was yours," Ritsu answered wittedly.

"Yeah. Sure," Mio waved Ritsu off. "Thank you for the ride, Tainaka-sensei."

"Ritsu."

"Huh?"

"Just call me Ritsu when we're not at school. It makes me feel—" Ritsu shuddered. She felt slight remorse when she had to be a substitute, to think that she was a regular at the disciplinarian's office and the major reason for the teacher's migraine. It was now her turn to feel what her teachers felt ten years ago, in the same school. Oh, the irony. The biggest irony in Tainaka Ritsu's life. "Anyway, some girls in the class already call me Ricchan at school."

"Okay," Mio mumbled softly. "Thank you again, Tai—I mean Ri-Ritsu-san." Mio blushed.

"No problem." Ritsu remained in the driveway until she made sure Mio was inside her home.

"I'm home!" Mio called out upon entering the house where she would stay for the rest of the year.

"Oh? Mio-chan! Welcome home," a brunette woman in her late twenties greeted Mio. "How's your friend?"

"She's fine," Mio answered.

"Did her parents give you a ride home? I heard a car pulled in our driveway," the longhaired brunette asked, her eyes where not leaving the computer.

"Another song?" Mio asked her guardian.

"Yeah. I'll be meeting with Souichiro-san tomorrow morning."

"He's the owner of TNK Mousikē, right? I can't believe you know him personally," Mio said, plopping herself on the sofa in front of the opened TV. Being a big fan of music, Mio could not believe her luck when she learned that her guardian personally knew the big man behind the famous music studio. Mio very much liked the idea of having the privilege to enter and watch some famous artists record their soon to be hit songs.

"Well, my friend was actually the one who knows him personally. I just got introduced," the older woman replied.

"I see," Mio said before her attention was caught by an advertisement, completely forgetting about her guardian.

**

* * *

**

"Hello?" Ritsu answered, pressing the loudspeaker while she maintained her eyes on the road. "Ah! Nakata-san, is there something wrong with my car?"

There was a slight irate sound before the voice emitted from the phone. _"No, there is nothing wrong with your car, Ritsu-sama."_

Ritsu smiled when she heard the very familiar male voice. "That's good. Thank you for getting my car for me, Nakata-san." Ritsu pulled over to the still unopened Kallistēi bar. The brunette turned off her engine, grabbing her phone as she got off her car.

"_No problem at all. Is there anything else you need me to do, Ritsu-sama?"_

"No. That's everything. Thanks you," Ritsu shoved her phone inside her jacket's pocket. The brunette entered the facility like her own home. The sight of the owner, Hirasawa Ui and Azusa, wiping the table, while Yui happily ate some strawberry parfait, greeted her. The darker brunette chuckled when she noticed that there were already two empty cups of dessert at Yui's table.

Ritsu cannot help but smile. This was something that came natural with them. They would get together for some tea and desserts. The brunette how ever cannot help but feel something stirring inside her as she realized something.

Ritsu shook her head. The three had yet to notice her. "Yo!"

The three looked at her, smiling as the each greeted the brunette in unison.

"Ya ho Ricchan!" Yui beamed at her. She had remnants of whip cream all around her mouth. "What happened to you last night?"

"Oh, nothing much," Ritsu said as she pulled a chair in beside her childhood friend. "I was not feeling nauseous yesterday. I was dead until this afternoon."

" Oh," was all that Yui muttered before Azusa glared at Ritsu.

"Have you been eating junk again, Ritsu-senpai? No wonder you feel sick."

"What? No! I was just…" Ritsu trailed off when she noticed Azusa's glare intensified. "Well, ahem. I actually get _real_ foods from my neighbours, Azusa. Mostly, Nishikigi-san brings supper for me everyday."

Azusa's glare disappeared as soon as she heard that Ritsu had been taken care of whenever she was not around—at least. "Mou, I just can't understand why you don't cook." Azusa's eyes instinctively looked down at the vibrating black phone in the table.

"It's a hassle to cook just for one," Ritsu said, ignoring the fact that someone was trying to get a hold of her on the phone.

"Well, that's right, I guess," Azusa replied, her eyes did not leave the phone. _It's her. _Azusa thought and moments later, the phone stopped vibrating. She looked back at Ritsu, just in time to see that the brunette was well aware of the call.

"Before I forget, Ricchan, your father called me yesterday. He's worried about you, you know." Yui told Ritsu as she finished her third glass of parfait. "You still haven't contacted home since _forever_."

"Yeah I know," Ritsu shrugged, her phone began vibrating again, making Azusa glance once more. "I'll call them sometime. I just—I-I need some time to myself," Ritsu mumbled. She spared a small glance at her phone. Same caller.

"But Ricchan! You haven't seen them for what? Almost a year. Ricchan, I really think you should get over it. It's been almost a year after all," Yui said while Azusa glared at her incredulously. How can her wife be so dense at such things? "Don't get me wrong, I like M—"

"Nine months, Yui. No-not that I'm counting," Ritsu corrected her friend, effectively cutting the airhead off. She still ignored the phone call.

"Yui, that's not a nice thing to say so bluntly," Azusa reproached her wife of three years. "And stop arranging blind dates for her, too!" Azusa's eyes did not leave Ritsu's phone.

"But, Azusa, did you not hear what I just said? Almost a year!" Yui griped. "Ricchan must've been lonely."

Azusa looked menacingly at Yui, tearing her eyes off the still vibrating phone. "She's not lonely. She has us. You're not lonely are you, senpai?" Azusa paused for a while to look at Ritsu. "Anyway, it doesn't matter how long it is. What if that happened to us?" Azusa continued, not bothering to hear the answer from Ritsu. "Are you okay with me dating after? It's just almost a year! They could still work on i—" Ritsu sighed as the married couple began ranting at each other.

"Like I said. It's nine months! And stop it you two," Ritsu butted in. Her right hand was rubbing her temple. "Honestly, you guys are giving me a head ache."

"Hmph!" Yui huffed. "Maybe you should just talk to Mugi-chan then. She can tell you otherwise. I miss Mugi-chan's cake. I wonder if I sent a postcard for her."

Azusa ignored her wife's remark. "Senpai, aren't you going to answer that?" she asked when she realized that Ritsu had yet to answer the call. "It's been vibrating for a while." Azusa pointed at the black vibrating phone sitting on top of their table.

Ritsu looked at it. It was still the same caller for the last three calls. "I—" she sighed before standing up from her chair. "Yeah. I think I should," Ritsu excused herself to take the call.

Yui and Azusa looked at the retreating form of their friend. Their eyes did not leave the spot where Ritsu disappeared into the corner. "I wonder who it is," Yui voiced her thoughts as she looked sadly at the empty glasses of strawberry parfait.

Azusa turned to her left, looking at Yui seriously. "It's _her_."

**

* * *

**

Ritsu leaned back at the wall. Her hands were tightening around the black vibrating phone. The brunette was debating whether to answer the phone or not. It had been a while since she talked to the caller. _Nine months. And now you just call. _The last time she talked to the said caller did not leave any good memories.

Ritsu closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply before she brought her phone to her ears. "He-hello," Ritsu cursed herself when her voice cracked.

"_He-hellooooww,"_ a high-pitched tone answered the other line, making Ritsu raise her perfectly shaped eyebrow. _Ooooooiiiiii!"_ the toddler on the other end of the line chuckled.

"Chi-chan? Hey!" Ritsu greeted comfortably. She sighed in relief when she heard a certain little brunette. "Why are you using this phone?" Ritsu tried to ask the newly turned 3-year-old girl. The toddler always used their home phone whenever calling.

The toddler chuckled again. _"Licchan! Yo-you see. Chi-chan is. Chi-chan called you,"_she tried to say, stammering every now and then.

"I can see that. How's my little princess?" Ritsu asked sweetly. It had been a while since she last saw the little girl.

"_Chi-chan is gooooodd. I miss Licchan. Licchan wa?[2]" _

Ritsu chuckled. "I'm fine and I miss you too. Are you out today?" Ritsu asked when she heard cars in the background.

"_Un! You see. You see. You see. Mommy's taking Chi-chan to buy pweettty clothes today,"_ Chi-chan chuckled once more. _"Ojou-sama, your mommy is here already." _Ritsu heard another voice called out at the other end of the line. Ritsu instinctively pulled the phone away from her ears when the toddler screamed "Mommy" happily. _"It's Licchan!"_

**

* * *

**

"Mommy!"

"Hey, baby," a young woman with long silky hair walked up to the 3-year-old toddler. She was wearing a long white summer dress and a tender smile on her face.

"It's Licchan!" Chiaki beamed, earning a quick peck on her forehead from her young mother.

"Can mommy have her cell phone back now, Chiaki-chan?" the woman asked, kneeling to the height of the toddler.

"Un! It's Licchan!" Chiaki happily nodded, handing the silver phone to her mommy before running over to her baby sitter.

"Hello?"

**

* * *

**

"_Hello?"_ Ritsu's breath hitched when she heard a very familiar voice.

"He-hey," Ritsu answered nervously. She felt her body quiver as the angelic voice rang into her ear. Ritsu unconsciously pressed the phone harder against her ear.

"_I'm sorry, Chiaki-chan called during this time, you must be busy, It's already night in there, right? I told her to wait until we're home but you know how she is when it comes to you." _

"No, it's okay. I'm with Yui and the others," Ritsu mumbled. She found interest at the pavement below her.

"_Is that so? Tell them I said hi. I'm surprised you answered the call, though."_

"Yeah. Well…" Ritsu trailed off, not knowing what to say to the girl that had been haunting her in her dreams.

"_Chiaki-chan misses you a lot,"_ the girl paused, _"and I miss you too."_

"Really," Ritsu deadpanned to no avail when she heard the last statement. She cursed inwardly as she realized that her tone gave away her emotions to the other girl.

"_Ritsu. Look I—"_

"This is not something to talk over a phone call," Ritsu interrupted. Her rage was getting more and more evident from her tone.

"_I'm sorry,"_ the woman on the other end of the line apologized sincerely. The saddened tone in her voice made Ritsu cringe inside, she swore she could almost see the expression the woman was making on the other end. Ritsu never wanted to hear this kind of voice from her nor see her like this. Never.

"N-no. I'm sorry," Ritsu apologized too. "I'm sorry I snapped at you like that. I was just-I was just having a long day."

"_Ri—"_ the girl paused. Ritsu heard Chiaki's voice again, calling for her mommy to hurry up. Ritsu heard her say "Just a moment, baby" before the girl attended to her. _"I'm sorry, Ritsu. Chiaki-chan cannot wait anymore. I promised to go shopping with her today."_

"Yeah, she told me. I guess I have to let you go now," Ritsu muttered softly, as if she did not want to let the woman hung up.

"_I'm sorry. Look, I-ah. Take care of yourself okay?"_

"Un."

"_Really. Take care of yourself. Are you getting enough sleep?"_

"Un." Ritsu answered curtly. She heard the other woman sigh.

"_Anyway, Chiaki-chan told me to say she missed you and that she loves you."_

"Yeah. Tell her me, too."

"_Okay, I guess I'll let go now."_ Ritsu waited until the woman hung up. _"Ri-Ritsu?"_

"Yeah?" her ears perked when the other woman called her name once more.

"_I…"_

"…"

"_I love you,"_ the woman said passionately under her breath.

"…" Ritsu shut her eyes, breathing deeply, as she slumped slowly on the ground. Her thumb weakly pressed on the red button, effectively cutting the call.

_Dammit! You're not supposed to say that._ Ritsu thought, bringing her left hand towards her face as her head jerked back against the wall.

_I love you too._

**

* * *

**

[1] Dare: lit. "who" in Japanese. Not to be confuse by the English word dare (der).

[2] Licchan wa: This is like asking "How about you, Licchan?" yeah, somewhere along those lines.

**

* * *

**

CHARACTER PROFILE III

**Name: **Hirasawa Yui

**Birthday:** November 27

**Age:** 26

**Height:** 164 cm

**Blood Type:** O

**Occupation: **Master Engineer turned Music Professor

**Relationship Status: **Married to Azusa

* * *

**A/N: ** Any guesses on what Ritsu really does for a living? I had someone guess and it was fairly close. ^_^

Okay, I'm thinking of doing this story in first person (Ritsu's point of view). So maybe I'll spend the rest of my time replacing the released chapter to first person. I wonder if that's okay? I think it's appropriate. Man. I did not think about this story hard enough. -_-

Thanks for the reviews. How is this chapter? I'm trying to slowly bring out character information and backgrounds. I'm sorry if there's a lot of OC. Anyway, R&R! ^_^


	5. Chapter 4: Unwanted Memories

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Zinthos XII: **Did I mention how I like your reviews? It's always full of your thoughts. Anyway. HAHAHA! *points a finger at you* lol that was mean of me. Anyway, yeah. She did not kiss her. I was hoping to get this slowly (which really pains my, by the way). Well, Ritsu's not a graphic designer. But hey, graphic designers could earn enough, depends on the project they get. Hints are all around that Ritsu work is about designing. The question is what kind of designer. I haven't revealed Ritsu's family background. Maybe the students were right in their speculations that Ritsu came from a wealthy family? Oh my, I love your conclusion. You'll just have to wait and see if it is right. If it is right, then I give you the right to say "I knew it!" lol. I also wonder who the child is. Anyone? Anyone? *evil smirk*

**: **I totally know what you mean! That's why I'm thinking of finishing this story and maybe publish another version where it was told on Ritsu's POV. Cause this is mainly Ritsu's story anyway.

**Lalalala:** I know eh? I don't even know why but I just felt that I have to take it slow. I actually hate writing slow-paced stories. My brain also works slowly. Hahahaha.

**02-16-011: Proofread by LUNEATHA. **

* * *

**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 4

**Unwanted Memories**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

* * *

"Eh?"

Students walking in the hallway stopped in their tracks, looking for the source of the deafening scream. Tainaka Ritsu was standing inside the head teacher's office together with Sakuragaoka's music teacher. It had been a week since she started substituting for Tanaka sensei. What could make the jolly brunette's scream echo throughout the school, you ask. Simple, she had just been appointed as the advisor of a very familiar after school activity.

"Tainaka sensei, please don't be so loud. You're already an adult and you still haven't changed. It is unbecoming," the head teacher, Shirai Hinata, scolded her all grown up ex-student.

Ritsu plopped down on the chair mumbling, "Gomen."

"I'm sorry about that, Tainaka sensei, but we don't have any available teachers anymore," the other teacher apologized.

"Why can't you do it anyway, Maehara-san? I'm no music teacher," Ritsu complained.

"Stop whining like you're still in high school, _Ritsu. _Of all the teachers in here, you are the most appropriate advisor for them, especially with your background."

"But, but—" Ritsu frantically tried to get out of this other responsibility. "I'm already busy as it is. I can't have this club to overlook. You know that, Shirai-sensei."

"That's enough. You're going to be their advisor whether you like it or not," Shirai-sensei stated firmly.

"But—" Ritsu tried to reason but immediately shut her mouth after the head teacher narrowed her eyes threateningly. "Fine," Ritsu sighed in defeat. She walked towards the door with slumped shoulders, but not before turning back to face the victorious headmaster. "You're still an old hag. And just for that, I'm not coming to school for the rest of the week! Deal with it," Ritsu playfully said, sticking her tongue towards the now fuming teacher.

"Why you, delinquent!" Ritsu laughed after hearing the old term her teacher had used on her so many times.

"Uhm. Shirai sensei, you forgot to tell her something."

"It's fine. It's fine. She can handle that."

* * *

The room was eerily quiet albeit the soft scribbling noise of the pencil against the smooth texture of the paper. The owner, Tainaka Ritsu, was madly sketching on an 11x17 piece of paper. Her L-shaped desk was a mess. Two one-day-old instant ramen cups were sitting on top of her large glass desk together with a half eaten banana. Her three-monitor set up was crookedly sitting in one corner. Eraser residue and countless crumpled papers covered the hardwood flooring of the room. By the setup of the room, the place looked like a home office to the new substitute teacher.

Like the room, Ritsu herself was also a mess. She was wearing a baggy white shirt that was long enough to neatly hide her. Her brunette locks were tousled and her skin was paler than usual. She had been absent from school since Thursday and had been intensely working on a project due tomorrow morning. To make matters worse, she was to present this to the people coming from the main headquarters of their company in Germany tomorrow morning.

"Gah!" Ritsu banged her head on the desk in frustration. In front of her laid pieces and stacks of papers that had been produced by her team of engineers. Ritsu had been sleep deprived for the past two days and being in an unhealthy diet was not helping her brain to function at all. "Just where is it?" Ritsu asked irritatedly as she lifted stacks after stacks of paper.

"There you are!" Ritsu lightened when she saw a piece of bond paper with a few drawings of machine parts and doodles at the side. She looked back at her screen, clicking the mouse as she looked back and forth between the paper and the monitor.

Ritsu fought back a yawn, failing miserably as yawn after yawn escaped her mouth. "I think I need to sleep," Ritsu mumbled to herself as she looked at the digital clock on her desk. It was already nine in the morning and she had yet to lie comfortably in her bed.

"Man. This is taking a lot more time than I had expected." Ritsu leaned back, tilting her chair with her in the process. She tilted the chair back and forth. A piece of blue Staedtler pencil was in her mouth. She tilted the chair more until the doorbell to her apartment rang.

Startled by the sound, Ritsu successfully slipped, and her behind found the comfort of the cold hardwood floor."Ouch!" Ritsu yelped as she scratched her sore butt. "Who the hell would that be so early in the morning," Ritsu grunted grumpily as she languidly stood up from the floor and walked into the living room.

"What do you want?" Ritsu roared at her visitor as she angrily opened the door. She did not like to be interrupted whenever she was working. After all, she had a very short attention span and her concentration was hard to collect.

"I-ah," Ritsu rose a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the young girl fidgeting in front of her. The girl had long silky black hair, and she was fiddling with her index fingers while her eyes were glued down at the floor.

"Mio?" Ritsu asked as she rubbed her eyes off its sleepy state. The corners of her mouth quirked up when she saw Mio jump slightly.

"I ah- sorry. I just…" Mio trailed off as she slowly dared look up to her teacher. Mio immediately felt her face heat up as she took in the sight of Ritsu. In front of her was her new Graphics teacher, wearing nothing but white shirt, fabric so thin that you can almost see the silhouette of her curvy body against the natural rays of the sun. Mio's blush intensified, her face a setting sun as she realized that her teacher might just be wearing short undergarment. Oh how right she was.

"What's wrong?" Ritsu asked worriedly. She had been working non-stop working since yesterday after a short meeting at her office and had not had any sleep. One minute she found Mio standing in front of her doorway, blushing at something she cannot point. "What brings you here? You wanna come in?" Ritsu asked again, stepping aside to give access into her home.

Mio just nodded, her eyes once again finding the floor interesting. She stopped just a few feet away from the door. Ritsu eyed Mio curiously.

"_Ano_… Is there something wrong, Akiyama-san? Are you okay?" Ritsu tried to approach the girl cautiously. There was something bout the girl's action that made Ritsu worried.

"Eh? N-no! No, no," Mio shook her head. Her back was still facing Ritsu. "I just... I was just wondering if you got sick again," Mio started slowly. Genuine worry was evident on her voice. "You're not sick again, are you?" Mio asked, turning around to face Ritsu. She cannot help but smile at the sight of a dishevelled Ritsu. Ritsu was scratching her stomach lazily, yawning like a bear. Her hair was tied messily, brunette locks stuck out in every direction. Her black rimmed glasses were also crookedly placed on her face. "Wow. You look like a truck hit you," Mio commented as she took note of the dark circles under Ritsu's eyes.

"Geez. Thanks," Ritsu deadpanned and looked back at Mio. "And no, I'm not sick."

"Th-then why were you absent at school?"

"Oh!" Ritsu let out a soft chuckle. "I was working. You know. My _real_ work."

"Oh," Mio muttered before sighing in relief. "I see. That's good."

Ritsu grinned when the thought dawned into her mind. "Why? Did you miss me?" Ritsu teased. A huge grin was plastered on her face as Mio started to get flustered.

"Wha-! I don't know what you are talking about. I was just worried that you caught cold again. You were sick just last time. So, yeah…" Mio shyly trailed off when she realized that she was rambling too much.

"What?" Mio hissed at Ritsu when the older woman just suddenly clutched into her stomach and started laughing.

"No-nothing," Ritsu said in between her laughs. "It's cute that you're worrying about me. Though, I must say, you have been avoiding me for the past few days," Ritsu stated, inching closer to Mio. True to her words, Mio had been avoiding Ritsu after the eventful incident in her very own penthouse. Mio's attempt to avoid Ritsu was countered by countless teasing remarks from the brunette teacher. Be it wherever she were—in the hallways of their school, class, while having lessons, cafeteria, et cetera. The more she avoided Ritsu, the more the overly teasing brunette get on her case.

"No need to worry about me. I'm tough," Ritsu muttered, smacking her chest as if to prove her point.

"Yeah, right. You're one tough adult, collapsing on her student just like that," Mio mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Ritsu playfully asked Mio when the younger girl muttered something. Ritsu inched closer to Mio.

"Nothing," Mio replied, stepping back away from Ritsu. Mio blushed lightly when her teacher stepped closer. She stepped backwards until her back touched the wall. "What are you doing?" Mio glared at Ritsu—a glare that was getting more and more ineffective as Mio blushed.

"'Nothing,'" Ritsu bantered. "Where are you going anyway?" Ritsu changed the subject when she noticed the guitar case on Mio's back.

"I was supposed to meet Eri and Yuko. I thought I should check on you first cause, you know… I thought you were sick."

Ritsu humorously squinted on Mio as she shuffled her face closer to Mio's, "Who are you? My mother? Stop worrying about me," Ritsu whispered as she mischievously placed her hand on the wall, trapping the blushing teen effectively.

_Wha-what does she think she's doing? Her face is too close. Too close!_

"Then you should've taken care of yourself so people would not worry about you. Excuse me for worrying," Mio huffed, averting her eyes from Ritsu to the side. Ritsu suddenly jerked back and stared blankly at Mio.

"_Take care of yourself. I don't want to be worrying about your cute butt while I am thousand of miles away from you." _

"Se-sensei?" Mio asked when she realized that Ritsu had just stood still. The playful look on the brunette's face were long gone. Ritsu just stared at her as if the brunette was looking past through Mio's obsidian orbs. "Are you okay?" Mio placed a hand on Ritsu's right shoulder, effectively snapping Ritsu out from her haze.

"Huh?" Ritsu whipped her head towards Mio. "Ye-yeah. I'm fine. What time are you meeting your friends?" Ritsu immediately changed the topic, not wanting to be questioned at what the hell just happened.

"Uhm. Around ten," Mio replied, not bothering to press on her teacher.

"Oh? It's almost 10:10," Ritsu said. Her eyes were glued to the clock hanging just above Mio.

"EH!" Mio shouted. "Oh no! I need to go. It was nice to see you, sensei," Mio bowed before shuffling through the door.

"Yeah. Thanks for checking on me, I guess," Ritsu mumbled softly but loud enough for Mio to hear.

"No problem," Mio smiled brightly at Ritsu. "I'll see you later!" Mio waved off before disappearing behind the doors to Ritsu's apartment. Ritsu smirked, shaking her head before leaning back at the wall.

_What a girl._

* * *

Ritsu was walking back to her apartment from the convenience store when she spotted three familiar faces. She smiled unconsciously when she noticed the very same girl that was in her doorstep just a few hours ago.

Ritsu slowly sneaked up towards Mio who was talking gloomily with her childhood friends. Yuko and Emi noticed Ritsu tip-toeing, but Ritsu placed her index finger in front of her mouth, gesturing at Emi and Yuko to keep quiet.

Mio continued to talk, oblivious to what the brunette was scheming, while Ritsu positioned herself just inches away from the obsidian-eyed girl. She bent down slowly, careful not to alert Mio of her presence. When in perfect position, Ritsu blew on Mio's ear, her hot breath grazing Mio's right ear.

"Ieee!" Mio squeaked when she felt the hot breath caress her ear. She slowly turned, yelping once again when she realized how close her Ritsu's face was with her own. "Ta-ta-tainaka sensei!" Mio stuttered. The tip of her ears was bright red.

Mio glared back at her friends when she heard a not-so-discreet laughter. For the past week, the rest of the students had gotten used to their teacher's antics. Every now and then, Ritsu would mingle with the students and spare them some good minutes of horsing around. The most common occurrence for the past few days was the teasing of a certain Akiyama Mio.

"What do you think are you doing?" Mio hissed at Ritsu while clamping her right ear that was blushing hotly. She looked at Ritsu. The older woman was now dressed neatly. Her hair that was once dishevelled was now neatly tied into her usual low ponytail.

Ritsu impishly scratched the back of her head with a huge grin on her face. "_Gomen_, _gomen_. I just saw you guys talking and I decided to join too!" Ritsu exclaimed. "What's with the long faces?"

"Well," Yuko answered, "you see, Ricchan, we decided to rent a studio for today," Ritsu nodded. "But it's already fully booked."

"Oh?" Ritsu muttered. "So you need a place to play?" the three girls nodded. "Why not use the school? Aren't you a club or something?"

"Well, we're sort of the unofficial light music club and we don't have any drums that we can use at school."

"I see," Ritsu nodded. "Huh? That club's not official?"

"Uhm. Yes? We don't even have advisor yet," Mio mumbled.

"Why that smart old hag. Tricking me like that," Ritsu muttered to herself through gritted teeth.

"What was that, Ricchan?" Yuko asked when she saw Ritsu mumbling to herself.

Ritsu sighed, "Actually, you have an advisor. ME."

"EH? Since when?"

"Hai. Hai. Just a few days ago. Now, come with me. I'll show you a place where you can play until you've got your own place."

The girls beamed upon hearing this, "Really?"

"Yes. Now come on. I'm going to leave you," Ritsu said over her shoulders as she trudged through the street with the girls lagging behind her.

_I can't believe I'm offering them to use it. This is a really bad idea, Ritsu._

* * *

"Uhm, Ritsu-sensei," Emi called out for their teacher. "Where are we going? I don't think there's a studio in here," Emi glanced around the building.

"There is one," Ritsu shrugged as she stepped inside the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. She glanced at Mio discreetly, inwardly laughing when she noticed the teenager getting edgy.

_OH? They don't know she's been here before?_

"Here we go," Ritsu said as she stepped out of the elevator and walk through the hall, stopping at the lone door on the top floor. "This is actually my place." Ritsu opened the door to her penthouse, allowing the three students to step in first. She teasingly winked at Mio when she caught the younger girl looking at her.

"Seriously?" Yuko said in awe as she looked around the apartment.

"Yeah," Ritsu nodded. She walked over to the door just beside the common room. "You can practice here as long as you want. Nobody's using it anyway." The three girls scurried over to the room. The room's walls were partially covered in bamboo, serving as reflectors. The girls gasped at every minute detail of Ritsu's personal studio. It was definitely something you would see in some recording company.

In the middle back of the room were two sets of drums—one acoustic in yellow color and the other electronic drum set. There were two electric guitars and a bass guitar on the stand in the corner. On the left back corner was a Roland keyboard. Different effector pedals and various sizes of amplifiers also littered the room neatly.

"Sensei, I didn't know you play in a band too," Mio mumbled beside Ritsu, it was her first time in this room. The other two girls were already trying the instruments. "What do you play?"

Ritsu smiled down at Mio before looking back at the others. "I play drums," Ritsu's eyes looked at her old Yamaha acoustic drum set nostalgically. Despite being a few years old, the drums were evidently maintained and well-cared for. "And a little bit of piano," Ritsu added softly, her eyes lingering at the lone keyboard in the room. She tried her best to ignore the stinging pain she felt in her chest.

"Eh? You play piano, too?" the two girls playing stopped, apparently listening to their conversation. "Play us something, sensei!"

Ritsu's eyes never left the keyboard as her students looked at her expectantly.

"_Ricchan," a woman with long flaxen hair hugged her from behind. She had her arms snaked around the 22-year-old Ritsu's waist. "Play the piano for me," she said sweetly, resting her head on Ritsu's shoulders._

"_What? Why?" Ritsu asked as she tried to squirm away from the woman's hold. "You know how to play one, why don't you?"_

"_Mou, Ricchan, stingy. I'm not gonna kiss you anymore!" the flaxen haired woman puffed as she backed away from Ritsu, her arms crossed across her chest._

"_Wha-! You don't even-"_

"_Hahahaha. Stop teasing Ritsu," a young man said. His hair was a slightly darker shade of brown than Ritsu's._

"_Hmph!" the woman huffed. "Are you teaming up with your cousin again, Seiji?"_

"_Of course he's teaming up with me!" Ritsu exclaimed as Seiji placed an arm around her shoulders. "We're both Tainakas!"_

"_Yes! And I taught you how to play drums, too!" Seiji ruffled Ritsu's hair. A necklace holding a ring sparkled in the process. "I tell you, I'm her idol!" Seiji pumped up a fist in the air as Ritsu chuckled under his hold._

"_Hey! I am a Tainaka, too!" the woman protested as she raised her left hand that sported a nice silver band on her ring finger._

"_Hai, hai, hai," the two cousins chorused, making the blonde pout more._

"..sei!"

"Sensei!" Ritsu averted her eyes off the piano when her students' calls reached her.

"Are you okay, sensei?" Ritsu nodded feebly. "We asked if you could play something for us."

Mio looked at her teacher worriedly. One moment while they were talking, Ritsu just suddenly remained silent and her breathing became ragged. _Just like this morning._

"Eh? I-I'm sorry," Ritsu stammered. "M-maybe next time. I have work to do."

"Eh~~~" Yuko whined. Amongst the three, she had an openly close relationship Ritsu.

Ritsu laughed weakly, "I'm really sorry. Next time, I promise. If you need anything I'm just in the other room." The girls did not insist when Ritsu disappeared behind the closed doors of the home studio.

"Did we say something wrong?" Yuko asked when she took notice of the sudden change in Ritsu's mood.

"I don't think so," Emi shook her head weakly.

_I wonder what's wrong. She had spaced out again like this morning. Ritsu… _Mio thought as she looked at the closed door where her teacher once stood.

* * *

The tap water continued running as Ritsu looked at herself at the mirror of the toilet room. Her face was slightly flushed and her amber orbs were now stained in light red. Ritsu breathed in deeply, trying to calm herself.

_Why do I have to remember these now? First this morning and now this? I knew I shouldn't have opened that room. Just too many memories are—_Ritsu shook her head before slapping herself with both hands a few times. _This no good. I don't need to be thinking about this right now._ Ritsu pulled herself off the sink. _I need to work. Work. Work._

* * *

Ritsu finally recomposed herself and got most of her work done when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.

_My, I sure am popular today_

Ritsu lazily stood from her seat and dragged herself outside to the kitchen where she heard the rattling and humming of a certain adult.

"Just how many times do I have to tell you not to barge in my place like that?" Ritsu asked the blonde woman in front of her.

"Is that how you greet a young beautiful woman who brought you food?"

"Young? Some young woman you are," Ritsu bantered, earning another chuckle from the blonde woman in front of her. "Thanks for the food, anyway."

The woman hummed, "You working again?"

"_Ee[1]_," Ritsu nodded.

"I see—" the blonde woman suddenly stopped when she noticed two pairs of curious eyes looking at her. "Maa, maa, maa. I know your late night activities, _Taicchan_. But I never knew you had it in you. So many. two girls?" she cooed humorously as she smiled back at the two young girls behind Ritsu.

"Huh?" Ritsu tilted her head to the right in confusion. Just what the hell was the woman in front of her talking about? "What are you talking about, Sanae-san?"

"My! Mio-chan's here too!" Sanae beamed when the raven-haired girl stepped in her line of vision. Emi and Yuko looked at Mio questioningly who just avoided eye contact. Instead, Mio looked back at Sanae and kindly acknowledged the older woman with a nod.

Ritsu immediately turned around to see the three girls looking at her and Sanae. "Y-yo! Want to eat?" She immediately voiced nervously. She doesn't want the underage students to know of her late night activities.

The three nodded still not quite catching up to the turn of events as Sanae placed steaming taiyaki, steamed buns and a few pieces of cake on the table.

Yuko looked at Emi and mouthed,_ "Who's that?" _In which Emi just shrugged and looked back at the slightly blushing Mio.

* * *

Ritsu fidgeted under the intense gaze of the head teacher. It was her fifth time this week. She had been called out everyday since she skipped school last week.

"So? How are things going with the girls?" Shirai-sensei asked.

"Just peachy," Ritsu replied. "Except for the fact that the girls are coming over to my place every night to practice. You did not even tell me that they don't have a room to practice! That's why you appointed them under my care, is it? You smart old hag," Ritsu mumbled the last part.

"It's not like they are disturbing you, right?" she asked, slightly amused.

"We-well... I guess I kind of enjoy their company," Shirai raised an eyebrow at Ritsu. "Fine! It's fun okay? But come on. You don't have to trick me like that~~" Ritsu whined.

"Like I said, you are the most appropriate advisor for them. You were the president of Light Music Club when you studied here, right? And besides you have a very broad background in this. Speaking, how're your parents doing?"

"Fine, I guess. I haven't seen them for a while," Ritsu muttered. "Is that all?"

"Yes. I just want to check on your progress, seeing you're not really a teacher and all," Ritsu glared back at Shirai-sensei before heading towards the door. "Oh! And Tainaka sensei, be sure to announce the vacation to your students. Also, send my regards to your parents."

"Yeah. Yeah."

* * *

Ritsu roamed around the classroom, looking for any student who needed her help.

"Gah! Why is this so hard?" a red haired student whom Ritsu recognized as Mika shouted in annoyance. "Ricchan sensei!"

"What's wrong?" Ritsu asked the girl and looked back at her board. It had a lot of wiggly lines that Ritsu could not guess what it was supposed to be.

"I can't draw. This is impossible."

"Then? Just trace it. It's not like I'm grading your skill to draw. I want to see that you understand toning and shading," Mika looked back at her teacher blankly. Ritsu sighed before grabbing the piece of paper that had the picture of what Mika wanted to draw. "Here, turn your paper around. Then color the back using graphite block."

"Uhm. What's that?"

"You don't have one? Here. Good thing I have mine." Ritsu pulled out a piece of graphite 6B from her case. "Just color it like this. Then tape it into your Bainbridge then that's it! Trace it. Just like that. Easy huh?"

Mika nodded and beamed, knowing she did not need to worry about those intricate lines on her photo, "Thanks, sensei."

Ritsu helped some more students before she settled on one seat. She pulled a small drawing book and a piece of pencil. Even before she noticed it, Ritsu unconsciously started to scribble on the blank paper. After about 30 minutes or so, she finished a sketch of a child.

_Chiaki ._

The toddler was sitting femininely on the grass under the Sakura tree. She was wearing a plain white dress and the hat that Ritsu had gotten for her birthday. Ritsu smiled genuinely at the memory of her last time with the said girl.

Another minute passed and Ritsu scanned the room. The students were still concentrating on their task. _Good. _Ritsu thought as she flipped to another blank page on her sketchbook. _I guess I'll be doing this until class ends._

Ritsu began to unconsciously scribble once again. Looking in front of her once in a while, she smiled unconsciously as she heard a very familiar giggle in front of her. The three girls, Mio, Yuko and Emi, who had grown close to her for the past few days were chatting animatedly as they continued to draw.

"Hey," Ritsu called out, making three heads look at her direction. "Make sure you finish what you're doing. That would be due when you get back from your week off," Ritsu light-heartedly scolded the girls.

"Hai~~" the three chorused playfully earning a chuckle from Ritsu before she tried to get back to what she was doing. Instead, Ritsu stared at the girl in front of her. If someone were to ask her if she found the girl attractive, she would not hesitate to answer a big yes. The said girl, Akiyama Mio, was oblivious to the appreciative amber eyes looking at her. She continued to draw, occasionally replying in-between her friends' excited chattering.

Ritsu looked down at her paper. Through the years, Ritsu formed the habit of roughly sketching something that something that either caught her attention, or occupied her mind, or better, she would take pictures of it. _It lasts longer._

Sensing that she was being watched, Mio shivered and looked up only to be drawn in to the entrancing amber eyes that were looking straight at her. Mio blushed and looked away when Ritsu playfully winked at her. Mio fought the urge to look back at her teacher, failing miserably as she was once again greeted by Ritsu's curious gaze.

Ritsu chuckled to herself, shaking her head lightly as she continued to unconsciously finish her rough sketch. Ritsu glanced up at the wall clock, then back to her sketch. Ritsu's eyes widened slowly as the realization of what she had drawn hit her.

_What the-!_ Ritsu's inwardly cussed as the bell echoed throughout the whole of Sakuragaoka.

"I-I guess that's it for today!" Ritsu lightly stammered as her students looked up to her from their works. "And remember that you don't have classes for the rest of the Golden week, so don't go to school. I'll take your projects on Monday."

"Hai~~!" Ritsu watched as each and every one of her students walked out of the door. When everyone was gone, Ritsu plopped down exhaustedly. The substitute teacher eyed the black drawing notebook on her table warily. After a few minutes of a staring contest with her book, she cautiously reached for it, opening it slowly to the last page she had sketched in.

_What the fuck, indeed._ Ritsu thought as she stared at her rough sketch. _Though, I must say so myself, this is pretty good for a rough draft._

Ritsu's gaze was glued on the paper. A girl with long hair was seated on one of the school chairs. She was wearing the very own school uniform of Sakuragaoka as she held a pencil on her left hand.

_Kami-sama. I can't believe I drew her unconsciously. _Ritsu thought as panic bubbled in her stomach. _I cant believe I drew her! _Ritsu looked up to the chair that the person on her sketch had sit on, and then back to her sketch.

_Mio…_

* * *

CHARACTER PROFILE I Part B

**Name:** Tainaka "Taicchan" Ritsu 田井中 律,

**Occupation: **Substitute Graphic teacher for Sakuragoaka/ Designer of some sort (not yet specified)

**Family/ Relatives: **Tainaka Seiji (cousin)

**Relationship Status:** —

**Other info: **Drives a silver BMW Z4, a yellow BMW F8005, a white Audi R8 GT

Moved into the penthouse six months prior Chapter 1

Graduated at Tokyo University

**Hobby: **Drawing, doodling, playing games, sleeping (most of the time), reading manga (or any other books that has pictures in it)

[1] Ee: Yes in Japanese

**A/N:** It's my birthday today! YEAH! It's still morning and I decided to post this chapter before I get too wasted later. I hope you liked it though it's still pacing slowly. No worries, pace will pick up about a chapter or two after this.

So? Any guesses what Ritsu does for a living? And who's that girl on the flashback? They're too OOC aren't they? -_-

Anyway, leave a comment on what you think. Constructive criticism is most welcome!


	6. Chapter 5: So Natural

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**It's been a while. Yeah. I'm lame like that. Lol I hope the length of this chapter would suffice during my absence. **

* * *

**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 5

**So Natural  
**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

* * *

"Wa-wait!" A 25-year-old Tainaka Ritsu called out after the running toddler. "Chi-chan, come here." She asked the little girl who was running around the big house like a normal 2 year olds would do—well maybe she was _slightly _hyper than other kids her age—run havoc and leave places as if a tornado had just hit the mansion.

It all started this morning when Ritsu was trying to dress little Chiaki and the girl suddenly decided to play tag all over the incredulously large house—which in Ritsu's opinion was way too big for a three-person family. Ritsu sighed contently when she heard the blissful giggles of Chiaki from the little girl's playroom.

"Come on, Chiaki, princess." Ritsu cajoled as she peeked through the door of the room. "You need to get dressed. You're visiting mommy's big sister today, right?" Ritsu looked at the girl who located herself inside the pink Playskool house she got from her mommy's parents.

"Mama?" Chiaki gurgled as she tilted her petite head to her left.

"Come on, princess." Ritsu smiled tenderly at the giggling little girl. Chiaki's big dark blue eyes stared at her innocently. "Come on, come out of your little housey. Come to Ricchan." Ritsu offered her hand in which Chiaki took hesitantly. "Gotcha!" Ritsu immediately pulled Chiaki into a bear hug once the little girl's hand touched hers, causing the girl to chuckle and wriggle out of her arms.

"Plaaaayy! Plaaay! _Iya-iya_[1]." Chiaki shrieked enjoyably when Ritsu nuzzled her nose at the nook of her neck. The squealing came to a stop when the two brunettes, lying on the carpeted floor, squirming, heard someone clearing their throat. A pair of amber and blue eyes looked at the door. A woman in her mid-twenties was leaning casually at the doorframe with her arms crossed. Ritsu cannot help but stare in awe at the woman in front of her. Ritsu openly admired how the young woman looked so good in a plain and simple white v-neck shirt paired with a black frilly mini skirt.

_Simple is really beautiful, huh?_

"Are you giving Ricchan a hard time again, Chiaki-chan?" She asked the little brunette as she crouched down to Chiaki's height, effectively making Ritsu look back to the little girl that was once wrapped in her arms.

"Licchan! Play! _Asobu!_" Chiaki tried her best, in small steps, to walk towards her mommy.

"Mou, Chiaki-chan, it's not Licchan, she's—" whatever she was going to say was interrupted when Chiaki suddenly giggled before placing a sloppy kiss on her mommy's cheek. "Why, thank you, sweetie." She smiled down lovingly at her young one. "Now shall we make you neat and pretty?"

Chiaki stared at her blankly, then to Ritsu, as if asking the older brunette for her suggestion. "Yup, gonna be all pretty like your mommy." Ritsu told the young girl with a smug when she noticed the Chiaki looking at her. Ritsu's grin widened when she noticed the light tinge of red across the cheeks of the other adult occupant of the room.

"Ara, I thought I told you to prepare too, Ricchan?"

"Eh? I am ready. Just waiting for you guys to get dressed so I can drive you," Ritsu replied as her eyes drifted to Chiaki who was idly playing with her mommy's long, wavy hair.

"Really now?" she looked at Ritsu humorously from head to toe in which the older brunette followed.

"Wha-!" Ritsu yelped. "And it took me half an hour to get ready too!" Ritsu's once neat clothes were now crumpled and her hair was dishevelled after running around the house, playing.

The woman giggled before placing Chiaki back down on the floor, "Wait for mommy, quietly okay, baby?" she asked Chiaki, earning a nod and a soft hum. She watched Chiaki sat down beside the pile of her dolls before she walked towards Ritsu. "Here, let me." She tried to smooth down all the rumpled places. After making sure that everything was neat and smooth, she helped Ritsu fix her collar before fixating on the brunette's facial feature. "Oh, not wearing glasses today?"

"Nope, got my contacts on."

"Headband?"

"Right he—huh?" Ritsu reached up when she realized that her bangs was hanging loose only to find no familiar headband. "I must have dropped it a while ago."

"Fufufu. Just leave it like that then," she replied then looked at Chiaki. "I've been thinking of bringing Chiaki-chan to a playgroup. She's at the age where she plays as much until she can't anymore. I don't think I can satisfy her with all the running around she's been doing." She giggled. The little girl had been _very_ active lately.

"_You_ would bring her?" Ritsu's eyes travelled from Chiaki to the woman standing inches away from her. "How about work? Do you need help? I can bring her for you." Ritsu offered kindly.

"I'm sure I can manage. Thank you for the offer, though." She smiled. "I think I need to spend more time with her, a mommy-and-daughter-bonding."

There were a few minutes of comfortable silence before Ritsu started to fidget uncomfortably. "So… we are visiting Aoi-chan, huh?" Ritsu sighed softly after earning a nod from the other woman.

"…and then we'll see Seiji-kun." Ritsu could not help the fixed emotions that built up within after the mention of her cousin's name.

* * *

_I wonder how the three of them are doing._

"Woah!" Yui exclaimed in surprise when she found Ritsu inside their special VIP area at the Kallistēi bar her sister owns. Ritsu just stared at her childhood friend blankly before another girl with black hair stepped inside the room.

"Wha-! Ritsu?" Azusa gasped, looking questioningly at Ritsu. "What are you doing here, senpai?"

Ritsu scowled at her friends, "What, I can't be in here? I have the rights to be here, too! Ui-chan said so." Ritsu replied childishly as she took a sip on her Sex on the Beach.

"Heh~" Azusa looked amused at her before taking the seat in between her wife and Ritsu. Yui immediately scanned through the song list and entered a very familiar song she knew into the karaoke system. "They're already starting to party downstairs you know," Azusa continued as she looked at Ritsu who was laughing at Yui's antics.

"I know. I heard the loud music when you opened the door." Ritsu placed the now empty glass of cocktail on the table.

Azusa looked down at the table, noticing the three empty tall glasses of god knows what Ritsu had been drinking before she and Yui got there. "I heard Ui-chan had been asked for you downstairs, too. 'Taicchan', they say." Azusa continued, deciding to leave the commentary on Ritsu's drinking for later.

"Ehhh?" Ritsu looked at Azusa smugly. "Now _you_ want me downstairs and meet the _girls?_" Ritsu looked back to the flat screen TV when she realized that the petite girl won't answer. "I don't feel like socializing downstairs tonight." Ritsu unconsciously reached for her empty glass and sipped. A frown formed on her face when she realized that it was already empty. As if on cue, Ui entered the VIP room with their foods and drinks.

"Another one?" Azusa asked Ui when the youngest Hirasawa handed another glass of cocktail to Ritsu. "Did you drive your motorbike here, Ritsu senpai?" Azusa looked at Ritsu.

"Hmmm?" Ritsu hummed before taking a sip on her Tequila Sunrise. "Nope," Ritsu shook her head. "I took my car tonight." Ritsu grinned at her kouhai.

"Well, just leave it here for tonight, we'll drive you home." Azusa said, not bothering to wait for Ritsu's response.

"By the way, Ricchan," Yui plopped herself beside Ritsu, bumping her fellow brunette in the process. "School's off this week right?"

"Yeah. You're late, Yui. It's already Wednesday. Classes will resume on Monday."

"Tehe~ So? Any plans or are you just going to cave in your room, scribbling away the sorrows of your lonesome self?" Yui asked smugly, earning a playful chokehold from Ritsu. "Give up! Give up!" Yui laughed as Ritsu released her.

"You're going to visit you family home for the weekend, right?" Ui suddenly asked, earning a knowing, haughty look from the other three occupants of the room. "Wha-what?" Ui fidgeted under the stares as she held the tray closer to her chest.

"How did you know that, huh?" Ritsu asked with a grin.

"_Gusu gusu_[2]. My Ui-chan's all grown up." Yui wiped her _tears _away with the tissue Ritsu had offered.

"O-oneechan!"

"Heh~ It's nice to know that you _two_ still go along well." Azusa alleged making Ui flustered more.

"So? What else did my blabbermouth brother told you?" Ritsu's grin widened when she saw the light blush on Ui face.

"I-it's not like that, Ritsu-san! Oneechan!" Ui looked hopelessly at her _crying _sister.

"Yeah, right, _sure._" Ritsu winked at Ui. "My brother's a good catch, you know."

"Well, true that. Though Ui will have to wait since Satoshi's still in med school." Azusa agreed.

"Like I said, it's not like that!" Ui vainly reasoned.

"Yeah right!" They all laughed at Ui's tomato red face before Ritsu noticed the time. "Ah! I need to go now." Ritsu stood up and, surprisingly or not surprisingly, made to the door without stumbling down on her own.

"Eh? Already?" Yu whined just when Ritsu tried to open the door. "It's only 9! Ricchan, I thought you said we'll be together eternally?" Yui looked at Ritsu teary-eyed while Azusa just sighed on her partner's ridiculousness.

Ritsu smiled tenderly at her childhood friends before waving. "Yeah," Ritsu exited the room without bothering to play along with Yui's antics. Ritsu weaved through the bodies dancing and grinding each on the floor. There were a few girls who stopped Ritsu on the way, only to be told, "Next time, ladies."

Ritsu just started her car when she heard a familiar voice called out to her. "Ricchan!" Ritsu glanced back to see Yui running after her. She slowed down a bit so that the overly happy woman could catch her up. "I'll drive you home." Yui offered in between pants.

"Hmmm?" Ritsu glanced at Yui sideways. "I'm fine, I can drive." Ritsu was about to go to the driver's seat when Yui blocked her way.

"Come on, Ricchan. I'll drive you. I'll bring your car back tomorrow." Yui smiled at Ritsu before snatching the keys off the hands of the unsuspecting brunette. "Your car's so cool!" Yui beamed excitedly.

Ritsu mock-sighed before humorously saying, "You know, I'm more worried for my life with you driving than me driving like this."

"That was cruel, Ricchan!" Yui faked a hurt expression making Ritsu laugh as she walked around the passenger seat. The drive 20-minute drive was silent as Ritsu drifted off and on throughout the ride towards her condominium complex.

"So you're finally visiting your home? You haven't seen you parents for, what, almost a year, huh?" Yui started to ask as she pulled over at the front of the tall, glass façade building.

"Yeah. Well, my mom actually reached me and I really think I should go home this time. You know how she is. " Ritsu giggled at the memory of her mother and her motherly instincts before walking towards the building. She took a mental note to _kindly_ _speak_ to her brother about babbling about her new home number to their mother. "I better go see her before she send a search party after me." She added jokingly as she walked to the main doors.

"By the way, Ricchan," Yui called through the open windshield of the white sports car.

"Hmmm?" Ritsu stopped and glanced back over her shoulders.

"Try visiting _her_ family too when you got there, okay?"

Ritsu raised an eyebrow before replying, "Hai. Hai. Hai."

_I knew I'm gonna die this weekend. _Ritsu playfully told herself when she mentally listed the people she needed to visit.

* * *

Ritsu was humming tipsily when the elevator door opened on the 15th floor, revealing a very striking Miyako. The young lady was wearing a blank tank top and a very revealing mini skirt.

"See anything you like, Taicchan?" Miyako purred on the intoxicated brunette who can't take her eyes off her.

"Miyako," Ritsu finally acknowledged the presence of the beautiful girl. "Going out tonight?"

"You could say that. I'm surprised you're already done for the night." Miyako stood inches beside Ritsu.

"Maa… With your boyfriend?" Ritsu spared another side-glance at Miyako.

"Hahaha. I told you many times already, he's-not-my-boyfriend." Miyako answered, poking Ritsu for every word. Ritsu eyed Miyako suspiciously this time. "It's true, you know!"

"If you say so," Ritsu hummed.

"Of course! I say so myself."

"He's always at your apartment for long periods of time. Now don't tell me you just talk inside, doing innocent things you've thought of with your naïve minds." Ritsu smugly looked at her companion. "God knows what you're really doing inside that love nest of yours." Ritsu earned another chuckle from Miyako. "You're so casual _Miya._"

"You're one to talk." Miyako mumbled, well aware of her friend's casual flings, before looking at Ritsu mischievously.

"What?"

"Hmmm? Nothing."Miya shook her head. "Casual's just my thing, no? But I would definitely go exclusive with you, _Ritsu._" The playful tone on Miyako's voice was long gone as she looked directly into Ritsu's amber eyes.

Ritsu smiled at her before turning to look towards the closed elevator door. "You know, right? About my situation, I mean."

"Hmmm?" Miyako tilted her head to the side as she looked at Ritsu. "About her who-must-not-be-named you mean? Yes, I know of her."

"Then, what are you saying that for?" Ritsu smiled at Miyako.

"Waaah! This is the second time you rejected me Taicchan. That's not very good for my confidence, you know. If I ended up being single for the rest of my life, I'm blaming it all on you."

"Hahaha! I doubt about that would happen, knowing you." Ritsu winked at Miyako.

"But, seriously, is that _woman_ really the reason why you can't go exclusive?"

"You well know it's far more complicated than that." Ritsu mumbled so softly that Miyako did not hear her.

"Or someone else?" Ritsu looked at Miyako as if the girl was blabbering the most stupid thing in the world. "What was her name again? Mina-chan? Minako-chan? No. Miura? No, no." Ritsu's eyebrow twitched when she realized where Miyako was going with this conversation. "_Hora_, you know, the girl I met last time. Miko-chan? Oh! Miyu-chan!" Miyako exclaimed with a victorious smile. "What's this? You have a thing with girls that's got their names start with the letter 'M?' Hey! My name starts with an 'M' too!" Miyako winked back at Ritsu.

"Just what are you doing, Miyako-_san_?" Ritsu looked at her, pocketing her hands deep into her hoodie's pocket. "I don't even know any girls with those names you just mentioned."

"Really? And I was pretty confident with Miyu-chan, though. So?" Miyako paused, "What's her name again?"

Ritsu looked away from Miyako. "I don't know who you are talking about."

"Heeeh~ Playing innocent, huh?" Miyako grinned. "Well then, let me refresh your memory. The mysterious girl, Miyu-chan! You know, the girl with long black hair…? Shy type… and very cute, I must add. The one who was with you that day Sanae-san and I saw you." Miyako looked at Ritsu, no reaction. "You know, the Miyu-chan who slept in your apartment…?" she paused, but received no reaction from Ritsu yet again. "Just the two of you… no one else around… and I quote 'god-knows-what-you're-doing' and then Sanae-san told me that she also saw Miyu-chan again on your apar—"

"Mio," Ritsu mumbled, effectively cutting what Miyako was saying.

"Huh? What was that?" Miyako's grin widened when she noticed Ritsu blushing. What she wasn't sure though is if it was because of Ritsu's intoxicated state or something else.

"I. Said. Mio. Her name's Mio not Miyu."

"Ah! Yes, Mio-chan! So you do know her! Mou, Taicchan." Miyako giggled.

"Urusai, she's just my student."

"EH?" Ritsu winced when Miyako shrieked; it's not helping that she was feeling light headed too.

"Don't be so loud."

Miyako gasped. "So that's what you like, huh? Well, I can definitely see the thrill. Ah… The beauty of forbidden love."

"Baka," just on cue, the doors of the elevator opened at the top floor. "Well, I'll see you around Miyako." Ritsu waved goodbye as she walked out of the lift.

"Taicchan!" Ritsu looked back when she heard the blonde girl called out. "Maybe I should just go to your room tonight." Miyako teasingly offered.

"Hahaha. Tempting, Miyako-chan. But I'd have to decline. Off to you boyfriend now." Ritsu playfully shooed Miyako before walking away from the elevator. Ritsu laughed heartily when she heard Miyako said, "He's not my boyfriend!"

* * *

Ritsu spent a good five minutes outside her apartment door, trying to find her keys, before she finally got to come in. In her tipsy state, Ritsu did not even realize that her apartment door was already unlocked.

"I'm home," Ritsu automatically said as she tried to kick off her shoes.

"Ah! Welcome home," a voice coming from her living room greeted her.

"Ee," Ritsu absent-mindedly acknowledged the other person inside her apartment as she walked into the living room, just stopping dead in her tracks in front of the black couch. She was greeted by the sight of Mio, together with Yuko and Emi, sitting on the black leather couch. Yuko was grinning widely; Emi was trying to stifle a giggle while Mio had the big sorry-for-troubling-you-look on her face.

"Yo! Ricchan, welcome home!" Yuko greeted the baffled brunette standing in front of them.

"Huh?" Ritsu tilted her head as she stared at the three girls sitting in front of her. "This is my house, right?" Amber eyes carefully surveyed the area. A slight panic crept in when the thought of suddenly entering someone else's house crossed her mind. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth when she looked at the familiar furniture. Ritsu looked back down at the three girls. "So? What are you guys doing here?" Ritsu glanced at the clock. It was almost ten in the evening. "This late, too."

"We're camping here tonight!" Yuko unreservedly exclaimed.

"Gomen, sensei," Mio apologized when Ritsu looked at her.

Ritsu sighed before squishing herself in the little space between Mio and Yuko. "Honestly, what are you guys doing? Entering someone's house like that?" Yuko moved to give space for her teacher as she silently wondered why her teacher would squish herself in the middle when there are empty spaces on the couch beside them.

"Gah, Ricchan! You reek of alcohol, you drank?" Yuko asked the teacher beside her, pinching her nose.

"Just a little. At any rate, how did you guys get in?" Ritsu looked at Yuko who was sitting on her right. Yuko in return looked at Mio; Ritsu noticed that Emi was also looking at the obsidian haired girl. She then, in return, looked at Mio expectantly.

"The …s… ag" Mio mumbled, looking sideways.

"What's that?" Ritsu asked.

"The keys under the rag," Mio repeated shyly, a little bit clearly this time.

"Eh? How did you know about that?" Ritsu asked softly that Mio was the only one who heard it. "Anyway, I know that I told you guys that you can come anytime like this is your own house. But come on~!" Ritsu plopped her head on Mio's shoulder innately. Yuko and Emi just brushed this action off, seeing as it had been natural for the past few days they spent with the young teacher. "What if I brought a girl with me tonight, huh? You have to consider the time and day too." Ritsu murmured before closing her eyes. She inwardly sighed when she remembered Miyako offering to spend the night with her. "And also my needs." She mumbled softly.

_Talk about cockblock._

"What!" Emi and Yuko shuffled their faces closer to Ritsu, crushing Mio on the process. "You have a girlfriend?"

Ritsu inwardly smirked when she noticed Mio faintly stiffened before she opened an eye to look at the curious faces staring down at her. "Nope. Not really," she answered softly and shortly.

"Oh? Well, it's not like it's surprising that you have one, seeing you're quite popular at school. Teachers and students alike." Yuko stated as a matter -of-factly. "But, Ricchan, how old are you again?"

"Hm? 26, why?" Ritsu asked back, her head was still resting comfortably on Mio's shoulder.

"And you don't have a lover? My, I'm worried about you, Ricchan. You might not be able to get married at this rate." Yuko teasingly added, making Ritsu sit up properly and look blankly at Yuko. Yuko, for a moment, felt uneasy under the stares of Ritsu. Thinking she asked something that was taboo for the oldest girl.

Ritsu cleared her throat when Yuko looked away. "A-anyway, stop talking about my love life… How about you girls?" Ritsu looked at each of the girls. "Your parents sure trust you, huh? Sleeping over like this, I mean."

"Well…" Emi trailed off.

"We're together with everyone and we also said that you're with us, anyway." Mio finished as Yuko nodded in agreement.

"Hmmmm," Ritsu hummed. "For all they know you could be with _your_ lovers." Ritsu smirked at the three girls who all blushed identically. "Speaking of that, I don't think I've seen you guys with one before." The three girls looked anywhere but Ritsu.

"No boyfriends?" The three girls shook their heads hastily.

"…Girlfriends then?"

"None," Mio answered softly for the three of them.

"Eh?" Yuko hooked an arm around Mio. "What are you talking about, Mio? You have one, right?" The last statement piqued Ritsu's curiosity. Emi and Yuko exchanged knowing glances.

_Mio has a lover? Didn't see that coming. Wait-actually not really surprising. Considering the kid got her own fanclub. Kowai._ Ritsu shuddered inwardly.

"Really?" Ritsu asked softly as she looked directly into Mio's obsidian orbs.

"Yup! It's senpai, right?" Emi asked Yuko for confirmation.

"That's right! Sok—"

"Wha-what are you saying?" Mio clamped Yuko's mouth, effectively silencing her childhood friend's blabber. "Aha ha ha ha," Mio laughed awkwardly.

"Heh~" Ritsu gaped at Mio, making the younger girl fidget under her gaze. "Anyway, you guys can stay at my room." Ritsu immediately evaded the topic. "If you don't fit in the bed there's also a sofa bed." Ritsu stood up from her seat.

"Where are you sleeping?" Mio asked thoughtfully.

"Oh? I need to finish some stuff for work so I'll be staying at my office." The three girls nodded as they watched their teacher drag her feet across the room. "_Ja, _goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

"Huge," Emi gaped as they ready for bed. She looked curiously around Ritsu's bedroom. "Wow! She's got projected clock, too!" Emi beamed as she touched the cold wall of Ritsu's room where the clock was projected. Mio sighed as she watched her overly curious childhood friend pry into each and every nook and corner of their teacher's room.

"Ne, Mio-chan." Emi called out to Mio as they walked inside Ritsu's walk-in closet. "You think Ricchan-sensei's hiding porn somewhere?" Emi mischievously asked.

"Wha-! What are you saying?" Mio immediately blushed. " Of course not, Sensei's no—"

"How cuuuute!" Yuko squealed from outside the walk-in closet. "Hey guys, come here." Yuko peeked inside, motioning the girls to come out. "Look what I found." Yuko pointed to the black digital photo frame by Ritsu's bed. "Ricchan's pictures when she was young."

"Wow!" Emi marched closer. "That's Ricchan-sensei during high school!" Mio peeked over her friends shoulder and surely, it showed Ritsu in her Sakuragaoka's uniform together with another brunette. They laughed when the picture changed showing the same brunette with Ritsu. This time, however, the two was covered in white foams as Ritsu hold a fire extinguisher in her hands.

"She's not that tall during high school." Yuko commented when another picture popped out. It was a picture of a 17-year-old Ritsu together with a sophisticated blonde haired girl.

"Oh! She looks exactly like you, Mio." Yuko called when the frame showed Ritsu together with a black haired kouhai wearing twin tails.

"You're right." Emi mused as the two looked back in forth from Mio and the picture.

"You think one of these girls is her girlfriend?" Yuko suddenly asked as they all watched the picture change. It was a picture of Ritsu and four other girls. One girl was playfully pouting her lips on Ritsu's cheeks.

"But sensei said she doesn't have one." Mio reasoned softly. Somewhere inside her, she wished none of these girls were Ritsu's lover.

_Why do I even care?_

* * *

"Hello? Chizu?" Ritsu greeted the other person on the line as she tilted her chair on its two hind legs. She glanced at the time when nobody spoke. It was already two in the morning and the three girls on the other room had gone silent hours ago. "_Moshimoshi_?"

"…"

"A-ano? Sanada-sama?" Ritsu stuttered, she knew all too well that she's gonna get it from the other woman on the line after making this call on an ungodly hour.

"_What do you want?"_ An irritated Sanada Chizuru finally answered. _"Do you have any idea what time it is, huh, Ritsu?"_ Ritsu inwardly winced when she heard the woman call her name without honorifics.

_Oooh. She's mad._

"We-well… You see I need you to send the reports and proposals by the engineers and interior designers." Ritsu nervously stated. Chizuru had always been working under her wing ever since she started at the company. Chizuru was the only girl flexible and patient enough to keep up with Ritsu's spontaneous working hours and unorthodox working ethics.

"_It's not due till Monday so what's the hurry?"_

"Well, I'm going to visit my folks for the weekend. So... yeah." Ritsu scratched her cheek timidly.

"_Really? I haven't heard any of this."_

"Ye-yeah. Well, I forgot, sorry."

"_You shouldn't forget about this thing, I'm your secretary. Who, by the way, also substitutes for you on meetings and whatnot. And did I mention that I'm also the one being scolded whenever you don't show up?"_

"Hai, and I thank you for that. Really. Well about the files…" Ritsu trailed off.

"_Anyway, I already sent it, Ritsu-san. If there's anymore problems just call me. But please, don't forgo sleep."_

"Yes, thank you, Chizu. You're a life saver." Ritsu immediately looked at her messages after letting go of her secretary. The brunette stretched after checking that every file she needs was already there. "Maybe I should go take a rest."

After taking her contact lenses off, Ritsu decided to check on the girls first before going to bed herself. She was on way her to the master's bedroom when she noticed someone sitting on the living room. The room was dark but Ritsu can vividly make out the form of the girl.

"What's wrong, Mio? Can't sleep?" Ritsu smirked when she saw that she had scared the bass player.

"Well…" Mio trailed off as she looked at Ritsu. "How about you?" Mio asked as she watched her teacher plopped beside her.

"I just finished the things that needs to be done by tomorrow." Ritsu laid her head on Mio's lap without asking the girl's permission. "Ah, this feels good. My body's all stiff from hours of sitting." Ritsu's body sprawled over the couch. Her feet were dangling idly on the other side of the couch while she used Mio's lap as a pillow.

"What are you doing?" Mio asked when Ritsu closed her eyes.

"And here I thought you're the smart one." Ritsu grinned. "As you can see, Akiyama-san, I'm trying to rest."

"I see. So that's what it's called. I never fail to learn something new everyday from you, _sensei._" Mio responded humorously, stifling a giggle. "But why here? There are a lot of other empty spaces." Mio looked over the empty love seat then back down at Ritsu's peaceful face. The freshman fought the urge to touch Ritsu's face when she noticed the faint under-eye circles. Mio was taken aback when Ritsu's enticing amber orbs suddenly greeted her. Mio was thankful that the room was dark, hiding her now heavily forming blush. She swore she would never see the end of it if her teacher caught up on her blush.

"Mio's comfortable," Ritsu smirked at Mio. "And it's not like you're going to sleep right now. Right?" Ritsu looked at Mio hopefully.

"Ye-yeah." Mio stammered before looking away from Ritsu.

"So? Who is she?" Ritsu urged after a few minutes of silence.

"Who?" Mio looked back down at Ritsu who had closed her eyes once again.

"The 'senpai' your friends are talking about."

"Why do you want to know?" Mio cannot help the smile forming on her face.

"Nothing, just curious," Ritsu opened an eye. "So?"

"I don't think I'm required to answer that." Mio avoided Ritsu's gaze. "You always ask questions about me but I never got to ask questions." Mio fought another blush when she realized that Ritsu might think she's _interested._

"Fair enough. Then how about for each question I ask, you could ask me too. Of course not too personal either." Ritsu negotiated as she shifted on Mio's lap. "So?"

"Isn't this personal?" Mio rested her right hand on the couch, just beside Ritsu's waist.

"What? Isn't my question something trivial?"

"If it's trivial, then why do you have to know?" Mio cleverly questioned back. She sighed when she saw Ritsu pouting. "Fine, we've known each other since middle school."

"Heh…" Ritsu hummed. "That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it?" Mio paused before continuing, "If we're dating?" Ritsu inwardly gasped at her student's retort teasing, but nodded anyway. "No, we don't. I get three questions, right?"

"Wha-! Why, aren't you a cunning little girl?" Ritsu laughed. "Shoot." Ritsu intertwined her hands on top of her stomach.

"You said you have another work, right? How come you don't go to work there or something?"

"Hahaha. Well, I do work for them, technically. It's just that I get this special privilege. I can work on my own place and pace as long as I get the job done in time."

"That's convenient." Mio mused at her teacher's revelation. "Second question, what's your real job?"

"A lot of students have asked me that already. So I'm giving you the same response I gave them: 'guess.'"

"Eh? Well then… Hmmm." Mio pondered as she looked around the living room. "An architect?"

"Bzzt bzzt."

"A draftsman?"

"Bzzt bzzt."

"No? Then an engineer?" Mio paused. "Oh wait, I don't think you have the attention span on doing something so complicated." Mio laughed, earning a playful glare from Ritsu. "Then some sort of a designer maybe? You seem to draw for a living."

"I guess you could say that. Next question?"

"That's a very vague answer." Mio narrowed her eyes on Ritsu. "Anyway, why do you always wear that same yellow headband of yours?" Mio curiously asked.

Ritsu paused for a few moments that Mio thought the brunette had already fallen asleep. "Someone gave it to me. It's very special and memorable, I guess."

"Ritsu's girlfriend?" Mio asked once more.

"I guess you could describe her best as my best buddy." Ritsu smiled at the little recollection of her friend. "Oh, my turn! How old are you? 16? 17?"

"Nope… 15," Mio answered curtly.

Ritsu immediately sat up on her position and looked at Mio like the young girl had grown another pair. "Seriously?" Ritsu had assumed that Mio was already at least 16, but learning the girl was a year younger irked her like there was so much difference between a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old high school girl.

"What's with that reaction?" Mio giggled but after a few seconds that it dawned to her, her face turned into a light frown. "Do I look old?" She placed a hand on her cheek self-consciously.

"What? No! No!" Ritsu said defensively. "It's just that…" Ritsu trailed before going back to her comfortable position lying on Mio's lap. "I just thought you're 16 or something. Wow, you're not even on the marrying age, huh?"

Mio raised an amused eyebrow at her teacher's apparent _dilemma._ "And why would that concern you, Ritsu?" She looked down to face Ritsu.

"H-heh? No-nothing! I just-just you know… Telling you… and stuff…" Ritsu mumbled as she shifted her head so that she was now facing Mio's abdomen. Ritsu's eyes travelled down along Mio's slim and petite arms then to the hand that was resting beside her.

"Hai, hai. Well, you don't look like your age either." Mio followed Ritsu's gaze.

"Really? How old did you think I was?" Ritsu absentmindedly took Mio's hands into her own, startling the younger girl at first.

"I thought you're at least 20 and then 23 at top." Mio admitted.

"Heh~" Ritsu mused as she placed Mio's hand, palm face, against her own. "You've got pretty big hands, don't you, Mio?" Ritsu said, fighting the urge to close her eyes.

Mio immediately pulled her hand away from Ritsu, blushing heavily. "U-urusai! I-I already know that!"

Ritsu laughed at her student's embarrassment before taking Mio's hand back. "Mine's bigger, though."

"Of course. You're way taller than me."

"Hahaha. True that… true that… You're really warm." Ritsu trailed off as her body finally surrendered to exhaustion and sleepiness.

Ritsu snapped her eyes open, used to the odd sleeping pattern she has. She slowly sat up, careful not to wake the _pillow_ she used. The amber-eyed woman blushed when she realized that their fingers had become intertwined. She smiled tenderly at the sleeping girl before glancing at the clock. It was already five in the morning and the 30 minutes sleep she'd gotten was enough to get her going for the day. Ritsu admired the sleeping girl before gently shifting Mio so that she could lie on her back.

_Sweet dreams, Mio._

* * *

"..chan." Mio stirred in her sleep.

"Mio-chan, wake up." Mio slightly opened her eyes. "We're here." Mio watched as her brunette guardian stepped out of the car. It confused the 15-year-old girl at first. One moment, Mio was chatting leisurely with her teacher back in Tokyo. The next, she found herself with her guardian on some part of Kyoto for her guardian's work related business.

Mio looked around her, and took note how dark it has gotten outside. She took her Tommy Hilfiger sports bag and followed the older woman inside the house. Mio admired the contemporary style of the 2-storey house, which reminded her of Ritsu's penthouse. Mio blushed immediately at the thought of her teacher. Last time was the closest they had ever been, that Mio once describe it as _intimate._

"There's only three bedrooms in this house, go choose whichever you like."

"A-are you sure this is where we're staying? It seems like this is occupied already." Mio asked as her guardian walked inside the kitchen.

"Oh, no! No one's staying here at the moment. I always use this house whenever I stay here in Kyoto." Her guardian came out with a glass of water. "The big boss owns this place. His kids sometimes stay here when they have trips or something. Souichiro-san's wife just likes to make it home-y that's why there are a lot of their personal things." She looked around the living room. "Anyway, I'm going to my room and rest, I've got to get up early for my meeting with Souichiro-san. I'll be back by noon though. Well then, goodnight."

"_Oyasumi_." Mio looked around her; there was one big picture of whom she immediately recognized as the head of TNK Studio hanging on the wall. She saw quite a number of pictures of the man from her guardian's album back home. Mio's eyes then fall to the slightly smaller picture frame.

"What a beautiful woman." Mio said in awe as she stared at the picture of a woman in her forties. The woman's hair was a long silky dark brown hair, so dark that Mio thought it was black at first. But the woman's hazel brown eyes was what lured Mio in the most. It looked at her softly and tenderly.

Mio fought back a yawn before deciding to go to bed and leave the exploring of the house for later. She looked at the two unoccupied rooms before picking the room with white bed frame and more _girly_ than the two. Mio plopped down lazily at the comfortable queen sized bed. Not even five minutes had passed and Mio immediately dozed off. Who can blame the young girl though? Mio had been up until four in the morning, chatting with her teacher. And at nine, she was woken up by Eri to have their much due band practice. In addition, to her disappointment, Ritsu was already gone for an emergency meeting when they woke up. Mio took a mental note to lecture Ritsu about too trusting in regards of her home's security.

* * *

"Kyaaahh!" Mio screamed at the top of her lungs when she spotted a small bump under the blankets on her room. The obsidian haired girl recalled the time that morning when she left for a stroll to pass time until her guardian comes back from the meeting. She remembered that she made sure to lock all the doors and windows of the house. Then how? How did this intruder got inside the house without using any force? As if on cue, her guardian ran into the room, panting.

"Wha-what's wrong, Mio-chan?" she asked in between huffs. Mio pointed at the lump, in the middle of the bed, that started to stir. Tears were slowly swelling up on the corners of her eyes. The thought of someone breaking in the house, that they did not even own, was just plain terrible.

"Who-who's that?" Mio jumped on her place when the _trespasser_ moved under the blankets once more.

"Argghh… What happened?" the prowler yawned as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. The three stared at each other in silence for a few seconds before their brains fully processed what was going on.

"Ah! It's you." Mio's guardian was the first to break the silence as she pointed at the woman sitting on the middle of the bed.

Mio instinctively looked at her guardian. "Sawako-san, you know her?" Mio asked her brunette guardian who nodded.

"_Ara, _Sawa-chan?" the woman looked directly Mio's guardian.

"Hey there. Long time no see."

* * *

[1] Iya-iya: Japanese baby talk for no-no, apparently. Lol

[2] Japanese onomatopoeia for soft crying.

[3] Dame dayo: somewhere along the lines of 'no good'.

CHARACTER PROFILE IV

**Name:** ? Chiaki "Chiaki-chan" "Chi-chan"

**Birthday: **August 8 (3 y/o)

**Family/ Relatives: **"Mommy"

**Hair colour: **Brunette

**Eye colour: **Blue

**Height: **100cm

**Blood Type: **B (lol for those who are trying to figure who's child Chiaki is, here's another clue ^_^ Figure it out by the blood types I've given. lol)

CHARACTER PROFILE V

**Name:** Yamanaka Sawako

**Birthday: **January 31 (27 y/o)

**Family/ Relatives: ** Akiyama Mio (cousin's daughter)

**Occupation: **Composer/Musician

**Height: **178cm

**Blood Type: **B

**A/N: I think this is my longest chapter for this story or my RituMio/Mitsu fanfic for that matter. It got like 17 pages without my usual rambling. Lol Anyway, for those who got confused, the first part was a scene from the past; a year ago, to be precise. I refused to re read this chap after the second time since it just keeps on dragging on and getting longer. Lol so yeah. I hope there are minimal errors in this chap. **

**Some of you might think why the hell everybody likes Ritsu. Well, I dunno, somehow it left me just like that. And I think Ritsu is a very likeable character. Though I have to admit, K-On characters are somewhat, let's just say, average? Don't get me wrong, I love K-ON! But it just dawned to me while writing this chap that the character's personality is just a so-so (in my opinion anyway. Please don't kill me). Lol I mean, it's hard to write this story the way I want it to be without getting too OOC. Anyway, I think the next chapter would be out sooner than this one. Maybe… *mumbles* ^.^**

**Who thought that Mio's guardian would be Sawa-chan? Actually, when I first thought of this story, I had Azusa as Mio's relative but changed my mind after. And mind you, I change my mind A LOT. There are two new character's introduced in this chapter, Sawako and the girl named Aoi (Ritsu mentioned her name during the flashback scene)**

**I hope you liked this chap, I particularly liked writing the small and not-direct flirting scene between Mio and Ritsu. ^_^ There's like some scenes that came to mind but it just somewhat did not fit the character of the two so I did not put it. For those who've read my **_**Hopeless Romantic**_** story you'll know what I mean. **

**P.S I have a lot more to say but I doubt someone reads my notes. Wahaha Feedbacks! I want feedbacks. Yeah. I'm demanding like that.**

**Adios amigos, gracias.**

ありがとう


	7. Chapter 6: I Really Hate You

**A/n: Thanks for the reviews.**

**This chapter is longer than the last one (2k words longer). I can't believe I'm producing long chapters lately. It's just that I want to end a certain chapter on a certain scene. And I guess I put too much scenes and info into these last two chapters. I did not get to go to school today since I caught a flu. So instead, I wrote to pass time. ^_^**

* * *

**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 6

**I Really Hate You**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

* * *

Ritsu parked her yellow BMW F8005 motorbike at an empty spot on the furthest corner of the parking lot after a few minutes of contemplating whether to park at her designated spot or not. The 26-year-old brunette fixed her jacket collar before stealthily heading to the main door of the glass façade building. The facility was composed of two buildings. One building had white walls that were only decorated by the big black and blue logo of the company. The most noticeable feature of the facility was the contemporary office bridge that extended from the main office building.

Ritsu hurriedly strode over to the elevators, successfully evading the inquisitive receptionist on the main floor. She sighed in relief when she noticed that there were only few employees waiting for the lifts. It was obvious; after all, it was already ten in the morning and working hours started two hours ago. The brunette hopped on the very first elevator that opened, glad that nobody she knew was on it. After a few minutes of life-shuttering dullness inside the elevator, Ritsu got off at the 3rd floor. She immediately headed straight to the end of the hall, ignoring any people who might have noticed her presence inside the facility.

"Chizuru," Ritsu whispered, as she stood tall in front of the large desk just in front of the Chief designer's office. "Hey, Sanada-san," she repeated when the woman drowned on her work did not seem to hear her.

"Yes, how can I hel—" Sanada stopped when she noticed the woman standing in front of her. "Ritsu-san!"

"Shhh!" Ritsu silenced the diligent woman. "Is he here?" she whispered, looking around the office warily. Some of her men stopped to look at her suspiciously, before fending them off quietly.

"By 'he' you mean Tetsuro-sama? No, he's supposed to have a 10 o'clock meeting." Sanada answered as she scanned through the pile of paper in her desk.

Ritsu sighed in relief. "Whew. Anyway, here are the files that you'll need for the rest of the week." Ritsu handed a small flash drive to her secretary. "I better go now before the boss sees me." Ritsu spared another glance around her, making sure that nobody had informed the higher ups of her presence _yet_. "Oh! And if he asked, please don't tell him I dropped by." Ritsu pleaded.

"Don't tell who?" a very deep voice echoed throughout the room. The brunette jumped in reflex, her eyes widened for a second before squinting on Sanada.

"I thought you said he has a meeting?" Ritsu mouthed to the woman in front of her, still facing back towards the man who just voiced his inquiry.

Sanada shrugged before replying, loud enough for the man behind Ritsu to hear, "For all I know, I am not the vice president's secretary." Sanada sardonically said. "And I don't think knowing where Tetsuro-sama should be every minute is on my job description, _Tainaka-san_." Sanada smirked at Ritsu. "Knowing where on earth _you_ are would be my job." Sanada playfully stuck her tongue out to Ritsu, making the young brunette glare at her.

Ritsu cleared her throat before turning around to face the vice president. "O-ojiisan!" She greeted nervously. "Fancy meeting you here! Aha ha ha haa." Ritsu laughed awkwardly. Amber eyes darted left and right, as if trying to find the non-existent escape route. She twitched inwardly when she noticed that some of the people are already snooping around them—people working under her. Ritsu dared to look straight to the man in front of her. She gulped hard when her eyes met those hard and intense ochre eyes.

_Ooooh. I'm gonna get it._

"It's 'vice president' to you, Tainaka-san." Tetsuro replied nonchalantly.

Ritsu began to whine. "Eh? What's the deal? You never minded whe—"

"Tainaka-_shuryou[1]_!" Ritsu swore she almost felt the ground shake at that authoritative voice.

"Yes, vice president, sir!" Ritsu instinctively straightened her once slouchy position. Ritsu loved her grandfather dearly, but sometimes, the old man just gives him the bumps. Why can't he cu her some slack? They're relatives after all.

"I want to see you at my office." Tetsuro ordered before turning away from Ritsu and into the elevators. The employees immediately scampered away when Tetsuro looked at their way. "NOW!" Tetsuro barked acerbically, looking back at his granddaughter, when Ritsu made no move. Employees around them cringed at their boss's voice.

"Ha-hai! I'm coming now." Ritsu stiffly walked after her grandfather. She glared at one of her subordinates when she heard him say, "Good luck, chief!"

* * *

Ritsu fidgeted under the intense stare of her grandfather. Her grandfather's office was full of pictures and rough sketches of their company's works, in which Ritsu noticed that some were her team's works. Her eyes then looked down to where her grandfather was sitting. There was a glass nameplate sitting proudly on top of his desk.

_Nogizaka Tetsuro, Senior Executive Vice President._

Ritsu cleared her throat before breaking the bloodcurdling silence between them. "So... uhmm.. you nee—"

"I heard you're going to see your parents this week." Tetsuro suddenly stated, not bothering to let Ritsu finish what she was about to say.

"Ye-yeah, mom's bugging me all week now." Ritsu bashfully admitted, finding the red carpet under her feet interesting.

"That's good, Ritsu. Is Nakata-kun driving you there?"

"No, I'll be taking the _Shinkansen_[2]. I'll be heading there after this. I just dropped some works that they would need." Ritsu replied.

Tetsuro leaned back on his chair. "How long will you be staying at your father's family house?"

"Until Sunday, I guess. I have... ah... work on Monday. School work I mean." Ritsu clarified.

"Ah, yes. I've heard of it from Sanada-san. That's good that you've been going out, though I've been wondering when you are returning to your office _here_." Tetsuro leaned forward, resting his chin on his right knuckle. "You're lucky the higher-ups from the headquarters like you that you're able to have these flexible working hours and place. You should stop being so carefree."

"Ye-yeah," Ritsu answered submissively, scratching the back of her head.

"Your father's not going to like what you are doing for the past months, Ritsu." Tetsuro warned his granddaughter. Ochre eyes stared at Ritsu intently. "Especially regarding your mar—"

"I know." Ritsu mumbled, immediately silencing Tetsuro, as she looked back at her grandfather's eyes.

"I heard you moved out of your home, too." Ritsu's eyebrow twitched when she heard it. What's with the interrogation, anyways? Sure she hasn't told anyone yet, but was this really the right time and place for this?

"Ye-yeah," Ritsu looked to anywhere but her grandfather. "The-the house is too big for me, anyway."

"I see. That's logical. Just make sure you explain that carefully to your father, especially your actions of cutting your communications with them."There were a few minutes of silence before Testsuro's eyes softened when he noticed Ritsu's growing uncomfortable posture. "I hope your new neighbours are treating you well enough." Tetsuro changed the topic in convenience of Ritsu.

"Yes, they are very kind. There's also this on—" As if on cue, Tetsuro's assistant came knocking on the door.

"Nogizaka-sa—ah!" the young man pointed at Ritsu. "You're here, Ritsu-san? That's rare." He smiled kindly at Ritsu.

"What is it, Hiro-kun?" Tetsuro asked the young man, not much older than Ritsu.

"Oh! The representatives from MINI are here already." The young man, Hiro, answered. Ritsu looked at him then back to her grand father questioningly.

"I'll be right there." Tetsuro told Hiro. "I need to go now, Ritsu. Say hi to your mom from your grandmother and me. I'll see you at the meeting on Friday."

Ritsu watched her grandfather head to the doors. "Yeah, see you later." Ritsu waved.

"By the way," Tetsuro stopped walking to look back at her. "Make sure to visit your cousin before he visits you." Tetsuro uncharacteristically grinned at Ritsu's expression before disappearing around the corner of the hall.

Ritsu stared wide eyes at where her grandfather once stood, not knowing whether to laugh or be scared at the old man's last words.

_That old man. _Ritsu laughed as she headed to the hallway after her grandfather.

* * *

Ritsu stretched as soon as she stepped out of the bullet train. The travel was a roughly 2-hour long Shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Kyoto. She smiled widely when she saw a familiar boy waiting for her. The boy was leaning against the slick black sedan car, watching the passer-by quietly.

"Yo! Kento!" Ritsu called out to the young boy much younger than she is.

"Tainaka-san!" Kento greeted back taking the only bag Ritsu had brought with her. "How was the ride? I hope you were comfortable in it."

"Ee. It's been a while since I've ridden one. It feels nostalgic." Ritsu replied as she watched the young boy open the back passenger's door. "I'll sit here." Ritsu said curtly before making herself comfortable riding shotgun.

"It's been a while. I was really shocked when Yuki-san asked me to pick you up today." Kento continued the conversation casually as he started the car.

"You know how she is. She's been bitching me about visiting for quite sometime now." Ritsu laughed heartily. Her mother was a charm, but as Ritsu assumed, her old age must be catching up on her mood.

"You can't blame her though. The last time she saw you were a year ago." Kento said before turning right on the curve.

"I guess…" Ritsu trailed off as she watched the streets of Kyoto. "Oh, by the way, Kento, Do you mind if we make a little detour first?" she asked softly, her eyes not leaving the streets.

"Sure! Where do you wanna go?" Kento asked as he stepped on the breaks at the light.

"I think I'll go see Aoi-chan first." Kento looked at Ritsu for a while that he did not notice the changing light of the traffic lights. "It's already green, Ken." Ritsu pointed.

"Ah! Sorry. So, we're visiting Mayoi-san, huh." Kento mumbled as he took a turn to the right.

* * *

"_Tadaima._" Ritsu called out once she stepped inside her father's family home. Ritsu trudged through the halls and into the living room. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose when she did not see the woman she'd been expecting to see. Ritsu's lips curved upwards when she heard very excited footsteps behind her. "Oof!" She huffed when a long and slender pair of arms encircled her from behind.

"Ricchan!" a very eager voice greeted her. "So? How's my baby girl doing?"

"Mom, stop calling me that." Ritsu laughed before untangling herself away from her mother's bear hug.

"What? You just grew some inches and this old lady can't call you that anymore? You're so cold, Ricchan." Ritsu smiled down warmly at her mother. She was just a few inches taller than her mother, Tainaka Yuki. Ritsu mused that even though her mother was already on her late forties, the woman in front of her still radiated. Her long dark brown hair was void of any white hair and her skin was, as Ritsu remembered, still silky smooth.

"I missed you, mom." Ritsu admitted sweetly, embracing her mother back. She had always been a mother's girl, though the brunette would never admit it to anyone. Not like nobody does not know, anyways.

"Aw. I missed you too, sweetie. To be fair, I wouldn't miss you this much if you'd just visit from time to time. Ever since that day, you never showed yourself to us anymore. Ana-chan was also asking about you." Ritsu's eyebrow twitched at the mention of her mother's overly sweet best friend. "You did not even inform your mother, the one who risked her life to introduce you in this special world, that you moved out of your house. That's not good, Ricchan. Even if Mu—"

"Mom," Ritsu effectively cut off her mother's jabber. "I'm home." Ritsu smiled.

"Yes, welcome home." Yuki, on her tippy toes, tenderly kissed Ritsu on the cheek.

"By the way, where's dad?" Ritsu asked as she looked around the living room.

"Oh! You know how he is. He's out working." Yuki replied as she sat at the couch of their home.

"Well, I'm surprised _you're_ here." Ritsu raised an eyebrow at her mother. Between her two parents, her mother was the most absorbed into working. "Not going to do that creepy habit of yours?" Ritsu playfully asked, earning a glare from her mother.

"Hush you. That 'creepy habit' of mine was the one that paid your school." Ritsu gulped. She would never win against her mother if Yuki would pull it out like that. "It's fun and I'm proud of it." Yuki stated, head held up high.

"Oh yeah, poking needles to the poor mice is your definition of fun." Ritsu smirked at her mother. Tainaka Yuki was a known name in her field. Pioneering the best research on genetic engineering, Yuki was well respected by doctors of her time and younger generations.

Yuki childishly stuck her tongue out on her daughter. "Well, tell dad I'll be staying by the lake."

"Eh~ You're not staying here?" Yuki whined as she took her daughter's hand.

"Nah, maybe on my last night. I don't really think it's smart to stay here." Ritsu smiled sadly at her mother. Yuki instinctively squeezed her daughter's hand lightly, assuring the young woman that she is not alone.

"Did you visit…" Yuki trailed off as she looked at her daughter in the eyes.

"Yes, I _saw_ Aoi-chan too. I dropped by before heading here." Ritsu answered her mother's unfinished question.

"I see. That's good." Yuki smiled tenderly at Ritsu as she watched her daughter sat on one of the bar stools by the island table. "I'm sure Mayoi-chan missed you a lot." Yuki poured out tea for herself and her oldest child. She watched her daughter joyfully as Ritsu took a sip of the tea, reminding her of old days where they would spend the afternoon idling just like this. The two sat in comfortable silence before she spoke. "Perhaps you could also visit Ana-chan and Kenzo before heading to the lake house." Yuki suggested, trying her luck on her stubborn daughter.

Ritsu squeezed the half-empty cup in her hands lightly. "I… I don't know… It's just…" Ritsu paused, finding the cups in her hand interesting. "It's hard to meet them under these circumstances. There are just so many things going on." She took a sip at her tea. "It's just so… awkward and difficult."

"Maa, you know Ana-chan loves you. She would be ecstatic to see you." Yuki smiled at her daughter before taking a sip on her own tea. "I just don't know about Kenzo. You might find yourself greeted by a shotgun if he sees you." Yuki playfully added as she smirked at her daughter.

"Mom! That's very reassuring." Ritsu answered sarcastically before looking at her wrist watch. "I better go now. I'll drop by again later when Satoshi arrive. Tell dad I'm home." Ritsu gave her mother a quick peck on the cheek before heading for the doors. "Let's go Kento." Ritsu directed to the young boy standing by the hallway.

"Yes, I'll tell your father that you're home. Ricchan, don't forget to visit the _Kotobuki's_, okay?" Yuki urged earning a small nod from Ritsu before the younger Tainaka disappeared behind the closed doors.

* * *

"_Ah! It's you." Mio's guardian was the first to break the silence. _

_Mio instinctively looked at her guardian. "Sawako-san, you know her?" Mio asked her brunette guardian who nodded._

"_Ara, Sawa-chan?" the intruder looked directly Mio's guardian._

"_Hey there. Long time no see." Sawako smiled at the stranger warmly._

"Yeah… It's been a while." her voice was slightly hoarser than normal but the longing tone was evident.

"Wow. Look at you." Sawako gaped. "You look so different than before." Sawako inched closer to the bed. "You kept on looking good, huh?

"_Iyaa_! Such flattery, Sawa-chan! You're not bad yourself. Though I have to admit, I almost did not recognize you. You look so… What's the right word?" there was a slight pause. "_Sophisticated_ and calmer than during our school days." playful laughter echoed throughout the whole room.

"Right?" Sawako laughed. It was true. She was a wild girl during high school, and then it toned down bit by bit as she escalated the years of University. "I guess we all changed throughout the years. And the one who underwent the biggest metamorphosis was Yui-chan." Sawako smiled at her before taking a sit on the small beanbag near the foot of the bed. "So, how are you…" Sawako trailed off, fairly sure the other woman understood what she meant. Her lips that was one curved up was now forming a fine thin line. The brunette composer spared a side-glance when she received no response, only to find that the other woman was looking at her cousin's daughter.

Mio just stood there quietly despite the intrigued urge to butt in at the adult's conversation. She looked down at her guardian, then to the woman sitting in the middle of the bed. She blushed slightly when their eyes met. Mio's face heat up when she heard the woman snicker.

"You've heard, huh?" she addressed Sawako's question. In all honesty, she wasn't surprised that her former senpai knows. It downed to her that the brunette must have had heard the details from Yui.

It came to her ironically, that despite being the closest to Sawako during their high school days, they were the ones who drifted furthest apart. "So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked, not meaning to offend or to be rude.

"What?" Sawako laughed dryly, looking up at the ceiling. "Nothing. What's there to do about it?" She looked at her straight in the eyes.

"'Nothing?' I thought… Never mind. It's been a while since we talked. It feels like there's so much to catch up."

"We had a chat when we last met, didn't we? At your father's office." Sawako glanced at Mio, smiling at the high school girl.

"You call that a chat? We just exchanged greetings since you were meeting up with the big men." She grinned at Sawako before her expressions turn extremely neutral, void of any emotions as she looked directly at Sawako's brown eyes. "The last time we talked was 5 years ago. During the wedding, _Yamanaka_ _Sawako_." Amber eyes studied Sawako's reaction down to the very last minute detail.

Sawako held the gaze long enough as she tried to prevent any of her emotions slip up. She was well aware of the amber eyes that were intently watching her. Sawako inwardly twitched at the mention of the wedding and the use of her full name. She was all too used to the affectionate "Sawa-chan" her kouhai had been calling her. After holding the gaze as long as she could, Sawako averted her eyes to Mio before sighing and looking down at the carpeted floor.

"Yes, that's right. It was during the _wedding._"

There were an intense couple of minutes of silence before the amber-eyed woman directed her attention to the silent 15-year-old girl standing in front of the opened door. "Yo! Based on your reaction, you must be wondering how we know each other, right?" Mio looked at her, not really sure if she should interrupt, what she assumed, an important and serious conversation. Mio meekly nodded.

"Yamanaka Sawako!" Sawako and Mio faintly jumped on their positions when she suddenly bellowed. "Went and graduated to the same school as me, Sakuragaoka Girl's High School. In the same light music club during high school. We're not in the same band, though, she has her own. Uhm... we also went to the same University. Hmmm. Oh! By the way, did you know that Sawa-chan looked like th—"

"Tha-that's enough, Ricchan!" Sawako jumped at Ritsu to stop the woman from blurting more of her, as she described, embarrassing past. It had been a running gag since they started University. Ritsu laughed when she got the same reaction as back then. It relieved her that some things never really completely changes.

"A-anyway," Sawako cleared her throat before smoothing her skirt. She walked towards Mio who was amused at how the adults were acting, especially her always composed _aunt_. "This is Tainaka Ritsu. She's the boss' daughter I was talking about last night." She introduced the shorthaired brunette. "Ricchan, this is my cousin's daughter, Akiyama Mio." Sawako looked back at Mio. "I'm sorry Mio-chan, I didn't know that this _child_ would be here." Sawako playfully added, earning a mock-glare from Ritsu. Mio looked at Ritsu then to Sawako before looking back again to her supposed teacher. Ritsu smirked at Mio's confused look.

_Must've been the lack of sleep._

"Hello," Ritsu stood up from the bed before slowly walking towards the bewildered girl. "Nice to meet you, Mio-chan." Ritsu smirked as she offered her hand to Mio, in which the girl automatically shook. Ritsu's grin widened when a certain event crossed her mind. "'You've got pretty big hands, don't you,' Akiyama-sa—" Ritsu did not get to finish her sentence as she found herself cradling her sore head. The poor brunette did not even know what hit her.

"U-Urusai." Mio huffed; her left hand was balled into a fist as she glared at Ritsu.

"Tha-that hurt Mio-san!" Ritsu cried, still holding her head, despite the small smile on her face. She really liked pushing Mio's button. _Well, who wouldn't?_ She looked at Mio's flushed face. _I guess red really suits her. _

"Mio-chan! Why-why did you do that?" Sawako panicked. She was shocked that her normally well-behaved and well-mannered _niece_ just blew off like that, to a stranger nonetheless.

"It's fine, Sawako-san. I know her." Mio glanced back at Ritsu, feeling slightly guilty that she might have hit her a little too hard. However, the guiltiness slowly faded and Mio squinted at Ritsu. "You're not following me, are you?" As absurd and incongruous as it sound, Mio just had to ask and make sure that her, _a little too_ spontaneous, teacher did not do so. Or maybe, Mio, just a little, had hoped that Ritsu did follow her all the way to Kyoto.

"Huh? You know her, Mio-chan?" Sawako looked at Mio then to Ritsu. "You're not following her are you?"

"What? No! Sawa-chan!" Ritsu cried as she baby her bump on the head.

"Okay… If you say so," Mio looked from Ritsu to Sawako. "Remember the teacher I told you about? She's the one." Mio pointed at Ritsu. There was a few second of silence before Sawako burst laughing like there was no tomorrow. Mio innocently blinked at Sawako, not getting what was funny while Ritsu just glared at the laughing woman.

"Oh, wait." Sawako stopped when she noticed the straight look on Mio and Ritsu's glare. "You were serious?" Mio slowly nodded. "Pfft—sorry. Just. Really?" Sawako looked at Ritsu suspiciously.

"Yes!" Ritsu replied irritably at the laughing long-haired brunette. "Is there something wrong with it, Sawako-_san_?"

"Nothing!" Sawako shook her head as she tried to stifle another laugh. "Just wow." Sawako gaped at Ritsu. "So, you're a teacher now?"

"She's just a substitute." Mio answered for Ritsu.

"Yup, still work there." Ritsu added.

"Heh~" Sawako mused. "You've been working there for a while and I have yet to—" Sawako was interrupted when her phone suddenly rang. She fished for her peach slide up phone before excusing herself. "Sorry, I need to go for now. Since, you two already know each other; it would be all right, right? I might eat out tonight as well." Sawako looked at Mio to see if the youngest girl was okay with the arrangements before looking to her side. "Ricchan, accompany Mio-chan will you? It's her first time here at Kyoto. Please don't to something that would get you two in trouble."

Ritsu looked at Mio before responding, "Roger!"

* * *

"I would've never thought that you knew Sawako-san." Mio started. The two were preparing food after Ritsu's stomach decided to growl while they were at the comfy of Ritsu's bed. Well, in all fairness, Mio was cooking while Ritsu watched the younger girl busy herself in the kitchen.

"Well, didn't it occur to you that we came from the same school?" Ritsu asked, childishly balancing a chopstick on her philtrum while eyeing Mio as she chopped the onions. "We're really close back then, you know."

Mio stopped chopping. "I-I totally forgot that Sawako-san went to the same school as you." Mio mumbled shyly before continuing her chore. Mio paused once more when she heard her teacher giggled behind her. "What's so funny?" Mio asked as she looked at Ritsu.

"Hm? Nothing. It's just that this would be the second time I'll be eating something you cooked." Ritsu fondly replied as she held the chopsticks on her right hand.

"Second time?"

"Yeah," Ritsu nodded. "The first was back in my apartment when I got sick." The brunette rested her head on her right hand.

"Sensei," Mio humorously squinted at Ritsu. "Pouring hot water in an instant ramen is not the definition of cooking." A perfectly shaped eyebrow arched. "You should really stop stacking instant foods in your pantry. It's not good for you." Mio turned back to the chopping board, placing the chopped onions to the pan beside her. "You should eat real, healthy foods."

"Aw! How cute!" Ritsu mock-squealed. "Mio-chuan cares about me." Ritsu teased the young girl, expecting a course of stuttering and a beet red face.

"Of course I do." Mio answered absentmindedly without stammering. "I care about Ritsu 'cause I—!" Mio immediately shut her mouth as soon as she realized the words that had come out of her mouth. Her back was still facing the astounded teacher as she felt her face heat up.

Ritsu gaped at Mio, completely caught off guard by the younger girl's honest answer. Slowly, the corner of her lips tugged upwards. "Thank you." Ritsu mumbled sincerely. Her smile widened when she saw Mio nodded meekly.

The two spent the next couple of minutes in contented silence albeit the sizzling sound coming from the stove and. Ritsu's eyes never left Mio's backside until she noticed the touch screen phone in front of her, lying atop the marble counter. Ritsu looked at the illuminating screen of the phone, then to the oblivious Mio. Ritsu looked back at the phone only to notice that they already missed the call. After a few seconds, the phone started to vibrate once again, muffled by the sound of the sizzling pan.

_Megumi?_

"Mio, who's Megumi?" Ritsu asked curiously, as she held the vibrating phone in her hands. Amber eyes twinkled playfully when Mio jumped slightly at her inquisition. "Hello?" Ritsu answered the call without the owner's permission. "Megumi-san?" Mio turned around to look at Ritsu after hearing the name once again. Her eyes widened hastily as soon as she saw what the playful brunette was doing. "This is Mio's mistre—"

"Aaah!" Mio screamed as she jumped at Ritsu, one hand reaching for her phone and the other holding a wooden spoon. "What are you doing, sensei?" Mio's face was slightly coloured as she tried to reach for her phone.

"Mi-Mio!" Ritsu said in huff as she tried to pry Mio's hands away from the phone. "Don't do that when I'm on the phone." Ritsu scolded the freshman with a straight face before chuckling. They battled for the phone while the girl on the other end of the line was completely forgotten.

"Sensei!" Mio sternly looked at Ritsu who had a huge grin on her face. "That's my phone and that call is for me, Ritsu!"

"Reach for it." Ritsu challenged with a smirk as she stretched her right hand towards the ceiling and away from Mio's reach.

"Just give it to me." Mio ordered through her gritted teeth as she glared at Ritsu. Mio sighed when the older woman did not give in. Mio trudged over to Ritsu, successfully trapping the later between her and the wall. "Please, Ritsu." Mio pleaded once more in her tippy toes as she tried to get hold of her phone.

"Come on, Mio-chan. You can do better than that." Ritsu smirked down at her student as she herself stood on her toes.

Mio looked at Ritsu with great determination before clutching onto Ritsu's shirt as she tried to pull the taller brunette down. Ritsu defensively clasp Mio's hand as she tried to escape the younger girl's iron hold.

"Ritsuuu~ I'm gonna miss the call from senpai." Mio whimpered. Tears were starting to swell on the corner of her eyes.

"What do you want, Mio-chan?" Ritsu satirized as she tried her best to maintain her height. She smirked in victory after she got a good hold of Mio's hand that was grasping her shirt. Her victorious grin, however, was soon replaced by a small frown as she found her back against the cold floor. With a loud thud, the two fell shortly after Ritsu tried to sidestep and Mio accidentally steeped on her left foot.

"I-itai," Ritsu moaned. "Look what happe—" Ritsu immediately gasped when she found a teary-eyed Mio looking at her. No, wait—looking a little past her. Ritsu slowly followed Mio's gaze. Her lips ajar as she stared wide eye at the phone that fell on the floor. The once illuminating screen of the phone was now dark lit that showed no sign of life. Ritsu looked back at Mio who ended up straddling her. Ritsu gulped under the intense gaze of be obsidian eyes above her. "Mi-Mio, I'm so—"

"Stupid Ritsu!" Mio hissed, cutting off Ritsu, as she closed her fuming face into Ritsu's own. Mio looked into the amber eyes fixedly as it darted to the side in sign of guilt. The two stayed liked that for a few more seconds until Mio's phone started to vibrate once again, indicating it's still working. Mio hurriedly got off from Ritsu and crawled towards the vibrating phone.

Ritsu eyed the phone irately. "Why are you so adamant into taking it right now, anyway?" Ritsu mumbled earning a glare from Mio before the girl disappeared into the foyer. "What about my food?" Ritsu conceitedly murmured as she watched the obsidian girl go further away from earshot.

* * *

"He-hello?" Mio caught her breath after the little scene they had back in the kitchen. "Senpai?"

"_Mio-chan? Are you okay? What was that noise all about?"_ the other girl on the line asked thoughtfully.

"Ye-yeah! I'm fine. It's just some _kid,_" Mio paused to spare another glance at Ritsu in the kitchen. Mio glared at Ritsu when the brunette childishly stuck her tongue out. "Some kid was messing with me." Mio looked away from Ritsu.

"_Messing with you? Are you sure you're okay?"_

"I'm fine, really, Megumi senpai." Mio assured the other girl on the line. A small smile formed on her porcelain face. It always amused her at how Megumi would be always all over her well-being. "Why'd you call?"

"_Heh?"_ Megumi paused. _"I just—They're already showing the movie you wanted to watch. And I was just wondering if you wanna watch it after you've got back here in Tokyo."_

"Sure!" Mio agreed without hesitation. "I would love to."

"_That's great!"_ Megumi beamed from the other end of the line. _"Oh! Before I forget, your favourite café just put out their limited strawberry cake today." _

"What? You got me one, right? Senpai?" Mio asked hopefully. It was rarer than a blue moon that that certain café would sell her favourite cake. And they were the best at it.

Megumi chuckled. "Of course I did! And I haven't eaten mine yet. I feel like I would be hated if I ate without you." Megumi jokingly added making Mio laugh heartily.

"Thank you!" Mio replied gratifyingly.

"_No problem at all. Anyway, I have to go now. I can't wait to see you later, Mio-chan. Bye!"_

"Yeah, bye. Thanks again." Mio mumbled blissfully before hanging up. She looked at Ritsu who was still smirking at her.

_Gah! I hate her._

* * *

Ritsu looked at Mio annoyingly, as the girl answered the phone excitedly. "What's up with her? Getting all giddy on one phone call." Ritsu said to no one, shaking her head. "_Teenagers._"

She tore her eyes off from Mio's back then to food sitting on the stove, then back to Mio once again. Ritsu jumped on her place when Mio suddenly looked back at her. Ritsu, being Ritsu stuck her tongue out to the 15-year-old girl on the foyer, earning a rightful glare from the later. Ritsu smirked to herself after, feeling proud of the effect she can have on Mio's usually composed self.

Ritsu tapped her finger against the cold marble finishing of the counter, looking around the familiar kitchen and living room in boredom. A small nostalgic smile slowly formed on her face as memories after memories of her younger years flooded in her mind.

"_Ricchan~ Come on~!" an 18-year-old Hirasawa Yui called out from the kitchen of the Tainaka's lakeside villa. "It's breakfast time."_

"_Argh," Ritsu groaned as she languidly sprawled, face down, on the brown sofa. "Why do we have to get up so early?" her voice was muffled by the pillow._

"_Well, you were the one who suggested we go to the beach. And it's a long way from here." Azusa answered from the seat adjacent to Ritsu._

"_Guys! Food, let's eat! Let's eat~!" Yui beamed once more as she comfortably sat at the dining area. _

"_Sawa-chan's not even here yet." Ritsu voiced, still slumped on the couch, when she noticed no wacko rock girl at the kitchen._

"_She already ate before you woke up. She's by the lake right now, finishing her song." Azusa answered once again before standing up to help in the kitchen._

"_Heh~" Ritsu mused. "Sawa-chan's been working real hard lately."_

"_Of course, end of term is just around the corner. Are you ready for it, senpai?" Azusa asked making the brunette in the living room groan once more._

_Ritsu shifted in her comfortable position as she was now lying face up. "I'm too lazy to get up. Carry me Yui~~" the pillow she was hugging once again stifled her voice. _

"_I'll carry you." A voice full of humour echoed throughout the living room. Ritsu did not dare to look who it was when she felt warm arms hug her from the other side of the pillow. _

"_Mu-Mugi! I can't breathe!" Ritsu flailed playfully, earning a soft giggle from her childhood friend._

"_Ah! Mugi-chan, don't kill Ricchan. We still need her to drive us to the beach." Yui humorously informed._

"_My! Yui-chan's right." Mugi giggled once more before releasing the still slightly struggling brunette._

"_Gee, thanks Yui." Ritsu sardonically glared at the grinning musician. "And you." Ritsu's glare then drifted to Mugi. "Stop laughing."_

"_Maa, maa, maa, Ricchan." Mugi stood up from her position. "Let's eat?" Mugi offered her hand to Ritsu. She giggled once more when the drummer timidly took it. _

"_I can't wait to eat Mugi-chan's sweets." Yui sing-sang with a pair of chopsticks in her right hand. "By the way, Ricchan? Are they coming along too?" Two pairs of eyes looked at Ritsu._

"_Hm?" Ritsu looked from her left hand to Yui. "You mean Seiji? I don't know... Is he even here at Kyoto?" Ritsu's eyes averted from Yui to Mugi's blue eyes. Mugi shrugged curtly before slowly letting go of Ritsu's hand. Ritsu watched Mugi as the young Kotobuki sat elegantly beside Yui. "Ah! Yui, you got rice on your cheek." Ritsu pointed out after sitting in across Mugi and Yui._

"_Eh? Where?" yui asked to no one as she felt around her mouth._

"_Fufufu. Here, Yui-chan." Mugi giggled softly as she helped Yui in the process._

"_Azusa, feed me. Ahhhnn~" Ritsu childishly opened her mouth as she turned to her left where Azusa was sitting. _

_Azusa blushed slightly but nonetheless fed Ritsu with a piece of her egg._

"_Ah! That's unfair, Ricchan!" Yui yelped. "I want Azu-nyan to feed me too!" Yui childishly added as laughter filled the room._

Ritsu snapped out of her thoughts when she heard an angelic laughter coming from the foyer. She watched as Mio animatedly talk on the phone. She could not help but smile herself too, finding Mio's contentment contagious.

"Hm? So you could make that face too." Ritsu commented to no one when she saw Mio smile genuinely.

* * *

*knock*

Ritsu's knuckle was already sore and the girl inside the room made no signs of acknowledging her efforts to reconcile. Ritsu had thought that all was good after Mio finished her phone call happily. But no. The obsidian girl was as stubborn as she is and the two spent eating lunch with an eerie atmosphere. Immediately after the two finished eating, barely, Mio

"Mio," Ritsu called out to her sulking student.

"…" Ritsu sighed when she received no response.

"I'm sorry about your phone. I was just playing around. I didn't mean to—"

"Sensei should know when to stop." Mio said behind closed doors, leaving Ritsu speechless for a few seconds.

"We-well.. I-ah-I'm sorry. That was my bad." Ritsu paused as she leaned against the door. "So? Who's Megumi?" Ritsu urged her unanswered question—the start of their little squabble.

"…" _Why won't she answer?_

"Could you come out now?" Ritsu asked softly. "Let's go somewhere. I don't wanna be stuck inside the house."

"Why don't you go by yourself?" Ritsu heard ruffling noise from the other side of the door.

"Eh? But it would be no fun by myself. Come with me~!" Ritsu tried to soothe Mio until she felt her own phone vibrating inside her pocket. A smirk formed on her face as soon as she read the message. "Ne, Mio? Wanna go eat dessert? There's this café I know and they serve really good strawberry cake." Ritsu cajoled. Sweets were always a good bribing material to everyone she knew, so why not a teenage girl? Ritsu's ears perked when she heard soft footsteps inside the room. Her smirk widened when she saw the door creaked open. "So? Are you coming with me?" Ritsu asked, looking at the shorter girl in front of her.

Mio nodded timidly. "I-if you insist," Mio agreed softly as she meekly hid behind the door.

_Tsuntsun?[3]_

* * *

"There's quite a lot of people in here." Mio pondered as she looked around the very busy street, Ritsu's previous offence were completely forgotten.

"Well, it's the golden week after all." Ritsu casually replied as she shoved her hands into her pocket. "Where do you want to go after?" Ritsu asked while walking past the numerous busy shoppers and tourists at Kamigyou-ku. Ritsu stopped on her tracks when she heard no response from the younger girl. She looked back and stifled a laugh when she realized that the crowd had drowned Mio.

"Se-sensei!" Mio called out as she extended her arms towards Ritsu.

Ritsu looked at Mio amusingly before helping the young girl. "What are you doing, Mio-chan?" Ritsu laughed as she pulled Mio away from the mob of sightseers.

"Tha-thank you." Mio said in between pants.

"Let's go, then." Ritsu started to walk, still holding Mio's right hand.

"U-uhm, Ritsu?" Mio stammered as she tried to calm herself. Her obsidian orbs were not leaving their holding hands as they trudged against the flow of people coming onto them.

"What?" Ritsu paused momentarily to look at Mio. Her perfectly shaped eyebrows arched when she realized Mio's flushed face. _Must be the heat._

"I-ah. My hand."

Ritsu followed Mio's gaze. "Oh? It's fine this way, right? Or do you want to get lost among those people again?" Ritsu asked innocently as she cocked her head to the right. She laughed when she saw Mio vigorously shook her head. "I thought so." Ritsu smiled at Mio before continuing to walk away from the busy walkway.

* * *

"Wha—!Why did you suddenly stopped walking?" Ritsu asked Mio when the latter suddenly stopped on her tracks, effectively yanking Ritsu back. "Oi? Mio?" Ritsu called out to the spaced out girl, shaking their joined hands to get her attention.

"The-they have a lefty fair!" Mio beamed as she pointed at the music store. Ritsu raised an amused eyebrow at Mio's display. "Let's go inside!" Mio did not even bother to wait for Ritsu's response as she walked towards, dragging Ritsu in the process.

"Wait! But that is—! I can't go the—" Ritsu sighed when she realized that her words fell upon deaf ears as she lost Mio to the world of lefty fair.

Ritsu looked around the familiar store warily as Mio blissfully enjoyed the different types of left-handed bass guitar. Ritsu smiled when she saw Mio's blissful face but soon stiffened when someone called her.

"Tainaka-san!" Ritsu looked to her left. An employee of the music store jogged towards her. "I didn't know you're in town." The woman in her early twenties smiled at Ritsu.

"I didn't know you still work here, Kisaki." Ritsu asked the black-haired woman.

The woman named Kisaki nodded. "Just part time to suffice my school fees," Kisaki paused as she took another good look at Ritsu. "Are you here alone? Oh! You just missed Ana-sama. She was here moments ago."

Ritsu's right eye cringed at the mention of the very familiar owner of the store. "Yeah. I haven't seen her yet. I guess I'll visit her sometime this week."

"I see. Is there something you're looking for?" Kisaki offered.

"Kisaki~!" another employee called out to the woman in front of Ritsu.

Ritsu looked at the caller before turning her attention to Kisaki. "Nah. I'm all good. Just looking around."

"Kisaki!"

"Hai! I'm coming!" Kisaki addressed the high school part timer. "I have to go now, Tainaka-san. It was nice seeing you again." Kisaki started to walk away from Ritsu. "Oh, by the way, there's a fireworks display later. Please come and watch!"

"I'll see." Ritsu watched the younger woman as she accommodate other buyers.

* * *

"Gah!" Ritsu plopped on the floor at the foyer. It was already seven in the evening and they just spent the good half of their day walking around the busy streets of Kyoto. "I can't believe we spent hours at that music store." Ritsu groaned as she tried to take off her shoes by her feet. She rolled to her side and watched Mio neatly put her own shoes away.

"Ne, Mio?"

"Hmm?" Mio looked at the brunette who was lazily lying down on the floor.

"Do you wanna go to the festival tonight? I heard they're having fireworks display." Ritsu informed as she successfully kicked her shoes.

Mio's gaze followed Ritsu's scattered shoes. "Ritsu, please put away your shoes neatly." Mio said as she automatically clean after Ritsu. "Festival? I thought you're tired?"

"Eh~" Ritsu whined, sluggishly sitting on the couch properly. "It's fun!"

"Fi—"

"I'm home!" A drunkenly Yamanaka Sawako suddenly opened the door, slightly startling Mio. "Gah!" Ritsu chuckled Sawako's sudden entrance.

"Sawako-san! Are you all right?" Mio asked as she tried to support her woozy guardian.

"Souichiro-san got me. And I told him I can't drink today too." Sawako pouted as she sat on the foyer.

Ritsu laughed. "You're wasted, Sawa-chan."

Sawako glared at Ritsu. "It's your father's fault. Help me up stairs, Ricchan~" Sawako extended her arms.

"Honestly, you can't hold your liquor even now." Ritsu walked over to Sawako.

"I'll bring her to her room. You go prepare, Mio. There's a bunch of yukata in the room you're staying. Just choose whatever." Ritsu said before heading up the stairs.

* * *

"You're going out?" Sawako asked as she rolled on the fluffy bed.

"Yeah. I'll be taking Mio, okay?" Ritsu asked as she helped Sawako to fully rest on the bed.

"Sure," Sawako shifted further to the center of the bed. "I can't believe I let your father talk me into this."

"Hahaha. Dad sure likes you a lot." Ritsu laughed heartily.

"Well, as long as I'm making them money, of course he will!" Sawako lightheartedly added. "Kotobuki-sans' there too." Brown eyes met amber eyes. Silence filled the room.

"Mugi's dad?" Ritsu asked softly, earning a nod from Sawako. "How was it? That's your second time meeting him, right?"

"Yeah. The first time was back in college." Sawako looked at the ceiling as another round of silence filled the room.

"Ne, Sawa-chan?" the younger brunette sat on the bed.

"Hmmm?"

"Why did you break up with Mugi? You still love her, right?" Ritsu bluntly asked. Sawako's eyes widened a little as she looked at Ritsu then back to the ceiling. "Is it because of the wedding?" Ritsu urged even though she knew the topic was taboo on Sawako.

"Maybe?" Sawako closed her eyes. "Or maybe because she loves someone else?" She opened an eye to look at Ritsu.

"She really loves you, though."

"_Loved_, maybe. But what can I do? First love's hard to beat." Sawako grinned at Ritsu. "Right?"

"Ha! Why are you asking me?" Ritsu feigned innocently. "But you know, I was really expecting you to stop the wedding that day." Ritsu admitted softly. Her eyelids lowered. "You know, like a dramatic 'I won't let you take her away from me!" or something." Ritsu added seriously.

"What are you saying?" Sawako looked at Ritsu. The bed shifted as Ritsu stood up. "Isn't it better that way? And it's not like Mugi-chan would appreciate it if I were to do that."

"You'll never know. You'll never know." Ritsu shook her head. The shorthaired brunette walked over to the small desk, pulling out a sticky note.

Sawako rested her right arm over her eyes. "What's up with you? You know Mugi loves—" Sawako jerked up when Ritsu suddenly slapped her lightly on the face. "What the? Ricchan?"

"Hahaha. Why don't you call her?" Ritsu pointed at the blue sticky note she just smacked on Sawako's cheek. "She might need someone to talk to."

"Why don't you comfort her, then?" Sawako raised an eyebrow at Ritsu, taking the note that stuck on her cheek. Brown eyes watched silently as Ritsu headed towards the door.

Ritsu paused by the closed door, her right hand clenched the handle. "Sawa-chan," Ritsu opened the door. "You're best suited for that role during this time." Ritsu crookedly smiled at her before closing the door.

Sawako gaped at the closed door. "Just during this time, huh?" She said before plopping back down on the bed. She raised the note in the air.

_Mugi, huh?_

* * *

_Just what the hell am I doing?_

Ritsu took in a large breath as she looked back at Sawako's room.

_Whatever. It's fine if it's Sawa-chan._ Ritsu smiled tenderly.

* * *

"Yukata?" Mio opened the two-door closet in the room she's staying. "She wants me to wear yukata?" Mio mumbled to herself and soon felt her face heat up. Mio shook her head to clear her thoughts as she browse through five yukata.

"I wonder if she's gonna wear one too."

* * *

Ritsu was humming along with the song on her music player when Mio cleared her throat. "Ritsu?"

Ritsu slowly looked up from her iPod to Mio. She shook her head once when a specific picture of another longhaired girl flashed in her mind. "Wh-Why are you wearing that?" Ritsu asked her voice slightly cracked as she looked at Mio.

"You told me to," Mio stared back at Ritsu. "Why? Am I not supposed to wear this yukata?" Mio asked as she inspected the said clothing. She was wearing a snow-white yukata that had intricate floral details and purple obi belt that complimented her obsidian eyes.

"What? No! No!" It's just—" Ritsu paused to spare another glance at Mio's yukata. "Come on. We don't wanna miss the firework." Ritsu curtly stated before heading towards the main door with Mio trailing closely behind her.

The night was still young and festive music could be heard all over the place. Vendors popped out to every space along the streets as children ran around with their festival masks on. Mio was walking slightly ahead of Ritsu, oblivious of the amber eyes that were intently watching her. Ritsu smiled when she noticed the sparkled on Mio's eyes. _What's this? She's like a kid inside Willy Wonka's factory._ Ritsu chuckled as she watched Mio got engrossed over the different stalls.

Ritsu's eyes sparkle on its own, albeit slightly different that Mio's, when she spotted a specific festival mask. Mio was so absorbed watching the dancing kids when Ritsu crept behind her.

"Mio," Ritsu poked Mio's shoulder.

Mio looked to her right, ignorant of Ritsu's mischievous plans. Her obsidian eyes slowly widened as she looked at the close-up face of the _tengu_. "Wh-who?" Mio yelped as she backed away from the unknown stranger in tengu mask.

"It's me!" Ritsu beamed, lifting out her mask to her side.

"Wha-what are you doing, Ritsu?"

"Hahaha. Sorry. But you just knew it was coming."

"Sometimes I wonder who the kid is between us." Mio huffed, walking away from Ritsu.

"Mio-chan! Wait for me!" Ritsu laughed as she jogged after the girl.

Mio was once again absorbed by the street performers while Ritsu had gone off somewhere. It was only a few minutes until the firework starts and the older brunette told Mio to find a spot for them. Mio was enjoyably watching a mime when she felt someone tug on her yukata. Mio looked down to meet big brown eyes that were staring right at her.

Mio smiled as she crouched down to the kid's height. "What's wrong?" She asked the little girl tenderly. Her eyebrows crunched upwards when the little girl happily extended her right hand that was holding a strawberry flavoured snow cone. "For me?" Mio asked. Her head tilted innocently to the right.

The girl nodded before giving Mio a toothy grin. "But isn't this yours?" Mio asked.

The little girl shook her head and pointed to her left. "It's from her." Mio followed the girl's finger and smiled when she saw the all too familiar grin.

"Why, thank you." She said and soon the little girl was already off to play with her friends.

"So?" Ritsu approached Mio. "Are you still sulking from the mask incident?" she sat down beside Mio.

"Maybe," Mio mumbled with a smile. "Where's yours?" Ritsu shrugged, her arms supporting her body as she leaned back.

"Aaaahhn?" Ritsu opened her mouth.

"Honestly," Mio laughed as she fed Ritsu a spoonful of her snow cone. "You're quite stingy aren't yo—" Mio did not get to finish her sentence when the fireworks suddenly started. Mio instinctively looked up at the sky. "Wow. It's beautiful." Mio's eyes twinkled, vividly showing the reflection of the fireworks in her eyes.

Ritsu gaped at Mio in awe. "Yeah," Ritsu agreed under her breath. "Really beautiful."

Mio instinctively looked to Ritsu. She felt another blush coming when she realised at how close their face had gotten. Ritsu was staring deeply right into her eyes. Their faces were barely inches away. Just how did they gotten so close? "Wh-what?" Mio stammered.

Ritsu inwardly jerked when she realised what she had just said. "The fireworks." Ritsu pointed to the sky with her head, her eyes did not leave Mio's visage. _Tha-that was close._

"O-oh!" Mio uncharacteristically grinned at Ritsu before looking back at the sky. "It really is, huh?" Mio agreed with a huge genuine smile on her face.

"You should smile like that more often." Ritsu commented, making Mio look back at her. "You look really beautiful when you smile." Ritsu smiled, candidly complimenting the girl in front of her. "But of course, I like your red and flustered face too." Ritsu smirked at Mio who immediately turned red.

"Wha-Why-Huh?" Mio agitatedly muttered.

"Look. Jut like that." Ritsu pointed at Mio before laughing wholeheartedly. Mio gaped at her laughing teacher. Completely astounded to what Ritsu was trying to say.

_I really, really hate her._ Mio thought as she tried to calm her rapidly pounding heart.

_I hate her._

* * *

[1] Shuryou: chief

[2] Shinkansen: Bullet train

[3] Tsuntsun: "Tsun" from tsundere

CHARACTER PROFILE

**Name:** Kotobuki Tsumugi "Mugi"

**Birthday: **July 2 (25 y/o)

**Height: **173 cm

**Blood Type: **O

**A/N: So, Sawako and Mugi had a past during their college days. I bet you expected that as soon as I introduced Sawako last chapter though. Hahaha. It's a pretty long chapter like I said. ^_^ Did I confuse some of you? I think this chapter was kind of all over the place. But nah. I think it's passable. HAHAHA**

**Comments and suggestions are most welcome. ^^  
**


	8. Chapter 7: After Effects

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

**Chiyo And Osaka Fan****: **The last words of Ritsu's grandpa would make sense in this chapter ^_^

**Hayaku: **It really is hard to choose between the two. I wonder what to choose. ^^

* * *

**Fools Rush In: Where Angels Fear To Tread**

Chapter 7

**After Effects**

"_We always believe that our first love is our last, and our last love is our first."_

* * *

A humming young Ritsu walked into the busy reception area of the Tokyo Medical University Hospital. She was wearing a white collared shirt under her opened dark blue blazer paired by a light blue mini skirt.

"Ricchan!" a young woman in her late twenties called out to her. "School's finished already?" she asked as she jogged towards the 15-year-old brunette.

"Shou-san!" the brunette stopped to look back at the young intern. "Just now. Wow, you're still working hard." She grinned as she noticed the slightly rumpled dress shirt underneath the long lab coat of the young doctor.

Shou shyly smiled as she tried to smooth her rumpled clothes. "Well, there are a lot of kids today as you can see." As if on cue, a young girl bumped into her. "Ooof!" Shou huffed before looking down at the small girl. "What's wrong?" she asked the toddler, bending slightly.

"Sensei!" the girl tugged at her shirt, wrinkling it once more. "Toilet!" she cried as she pointed towards the hallway.

"Ahahaha." Shou shyly scratched her chin. "Sorry, Ricchan but I need to go now." Shou apologized with a smile. "If you're looking for your mom, she's at the usual room."

The 15-year-old Ritsu nodded. "Yeah, thanks! See you later. Thanks for your hard work!" She waved at Shou before heading towards the east wing of the hospital.

"At the lab, huh?" Ritsu muttered to herself before popping a caramel sucker on her mouth. Turning to the right, another personnel greeted her.

"Taicchan!" this time, a woman in her mid-twenties greeted her. She was wearing a skirt that extended just right above her knees. Stethoscope hung around her neck as she carried a clipboard on her hand.

"Whoa! What happened to you, Ayumi?" Ritsu asked when she noticed the hassled look on Ayumi's face. The young medicine student has very visible under eye circles.

"Iya… We've been doing all-nighters lately. Man, your mom's such a Nazi inside the lab." Ayumi sighed whilst shyly fixing her appearance.

"Hahaha! Well, mom's like a medical super otaku you know." Ritsu grinned before patting Ayumi on her shoulders. "I bet you're gonna be a great doctor, though!" Ritsu suggestively winked at Ayumi, making the older woman colour.

"Honestly, you're just in high school and you're such a flirt." Ayumi playfully punched Ritsu on her arms. "If you're looking for Yuki-sensei she just got called out to supervise some first years that are doing classes here." Ayumi pointed to her left.

"Seriously?" Ritsu frowned before popping out the sucker from her mouth. She had thought that her mother would have finished her business at the hospital once she got there.

"AHAHAHA. You're such a mommy's girl. You don't have to come here everyday, you know." Ayumi teased, making the younger brunette blush.

"Shu-shut up. I just have nothing to do." Ritsu mumbled. "Well, just tell her I'll be waiting at her office." Ritsu waved her sucker before continuing to another wing of the hospital where her mother's office was. Ritsu walked into the silent hall of the hospital, the only thing that could be heard were some beeping sound the machines were emitting. That was until a "code blue" PA system announcement was made. Ritsu watched as group of doctors and nurses hurriedly ran inside one room, bringing carts full of their equipment.

Ritsu shuddered slightly before continuing to her destination. "Hospitals are really creepy." The young brunette sighed in relief when she reached the _less_ morbid part of the hospital. She walked passed by a group kids playing then to a couple sitting on the waiting area. Ritsu was skimming through her song list when she passed by a sniffing young girl.

"Eh?" Ritsu stopped just a couple of feet ahead the crying girl before turning back. "What's wrong? Are you lost?" She asked as she crouched down to the weeping girl. "Hey, are you okay?" Ritsu asked softly as she tried to wipe the wet face of the 4-year-old girl before her.

"B-b-blo-blood." the young girl stammered in between sobs.

"Eh? Where?" Ritsu asked as she observed the young girl. Ritsu noted the girl's black hair that was neatly tied into twin tails by a white ribbon. Ritsu took the girl's arms as she searched for this _blood._

"Here," the girl whimpered while pointing at her right knee—that was in fact bleeding.

"Ouch," Ritsu winced when she saw the wound that stuck like a sore thumb on the girl's white skin. Big wet eyes looked at Ritsu, crying more when the older girl reacted to her wound. "I-I mean—! Let's go wash it, okay?" Ritsu asked, earning a small nod from the little girl. "Here," Ritsu turned her back towards the crying girl. "I'll give you a piggy back ride. Is that okay?" Ritsu smiled when the black-haired girl shyly nodded. "Let's make the boo-boo go away~" Ritsu happily trudges through the halls as she tried to cheer the little girl up.

"Oh! You're here, Erika-san. Can I borrow your first aid kit?" Ritsu asked as she entered another room that was divided in two. A sight of a hard working doctor greeted her.

"Yeah, it's over there on the left cupboard." Erika responded without tearing her eyes off the monitor screen. "Why are you hurt Ri—" Erika started as she swirled around on her seat to face Ritsu. She paused when she noticed a young girl hanging on Ritsu's back. "Who's that?" she pointed warily as if Ritsu was oblivious to the fact that there was some kid on her back. "I just didn't see you for a day and you already got a kid, Ritsu?" the eccentric 37-year-old physician stated with eyes as big as it could get.

"What! I'm 15, how could I get a kid this old?" Ritsu looked at Erika as if the doctor had declared the stupidest thing on the world. Ritsu knew the peculiar doctor since she was a kid. But oh boy could she never understood what's going on at the doctor's mind.

"What? You can't blame me! Your mother's some kind of a mad scientist." Erika stated as she fiddled madly with her hands. "Maybe she did that to you!" Eriko accusingly pointed at Ritsu before laughing frantically.

Ritsu could not help but laugh herself. "I think you both should stop hanging around each other so much. You and my mom are starting to act similarly." Ritsu placed the still sobbing girl on the blue sofa.

"Great minds think a like, Ritsu!" Erika stated confidently, pumping her fist to the air.

"Let's patch up your wound, uhm.. What's your name again?" Ritsu asked the sniffing girl, effectively ignoring the _odd _doctor in the room.

"Oi! Don't just ignore me."

"A-ak-aki—!" the 4-year-old girl tried to say in between hiccups.

"Aki, huh?" Ritsu cocked her head to the right as she pulled out a cotton and antiseptic from the kit. "I'll call you Aki-chan, okay?" Ritsu asked earning another nod from Aki. "_Ja_, it may sting a bit so put up with it." Ritsu softly told the girl before gently applying the antiseptic with a cotton ball.

"I-itai!" Aki yelped, instinctively jerking her knee away from Ritsu's touch.

Erika sighed as she watched the two from her chair. "That's no good, Ritsu. Don't bully the poor little kid." She stated, shaking her head to Ritsu.

"I am not bullying her, Erika-san!" Ritsu irately berated the childish doctor. "Here, let me." Ritsu tenderly took Aki's knee and carefully blowing into it. Ritsu took out the band-aid before carefully patching up Aki's wound. Ritsu looked up at the girl. Her eyes softened when she saw the teary-eyed Aki.

"Mama," Aki mumbled as she rubbed her right eye. "It hurts."

Ritsu smiled before kindly kissing Aki's hurt knee_._ "There, it's all gone now. I kissed the boo-boo away."

"Re-really?" Aki asked as she slowly looked into Ritsu's amber eyes.

"Un!" the brunette happily nodded. "Oh!" Ritsu bellowed, startling Aki. Ritsu laughed before digging into her book bag. "Here! This is your price for being a brave girl!" Ritsu handed a caramel sucker to Aki.

"Th-thank you."

"You should be a doctor, Ricchan." Erika commented as she watched the whole exchange, earning a laugh from Ritsu.

Ritsu and Aki was sleeping peacefully, sharing the blue couch, after spending the past few hours playing all over the hospital park. The room was silent despite the few random expressions Erika was saying in front of the computer.

"Ara! It's my baby girl," a 37-year-old Tainaka Yuki beamed as she looked down at her sleeping daughter. "Did she wait long, Eri-chan?" Yuki asked the busy body before hanging her lab coat at her own chair.

"Well, she's been here since school's out." Erika replied with a pencil on her mouth. "She's brought some kid with her too." Erika turned to look at Yuki before pointing at the sleeping bodies on the couch.

"I noticed. Who's she?" Yuki asked, earning a shrug from her colleague. The oldest Tainaka giggled before walking towards her daughter and mischievously taking out a digital camera from her purse. She squatted in front of the blue sofa. "Ahh, my Ricchan's really cute." Yuki breathe while poking her daughter's cheek. She giggled when Ritsu crinkled her nose adorably. "And the kid with her is super cute too."

*shutter*

"Stop obsessing over your own daughter, please." Erika casually stated as she frantically typed on her computer.

Yuki gasped while looking at Erika intently. "Are you jealous, Eri-chan?" Yuki placed her right hand on her cheek as she tantalizingly stared at Erika. "Tch!" Yuki clicked her tongue when Erika suddenly ignored her. "You're so cold, Eri-chan." She mumbled.

"Excuse me, Yuki-sensei?" A knock on the door was heard before a head peeped through the small space.

"Hai?" Yuki looked at the door. A young man in his mid-twenties entered. His hair was neatly cut that complimented his professional look. "My! Jin-chan! You're still here? I thought you went home already." Yuki stood up from her position, pocketing the small digital camera.

"Well, I wanted to finish this first." The young man named Jin handed a thick folder to Yuki. "I was wondering if you could take a look at it." Jin shyly scratched the back of his head.

"Is this your thesis?" Jin nodded meekly as he looked around the room shared by the two notable doctors in Asia. "It looks good."

"Ah!" Jin yelped, pointing at the sleeping bodies on the blue couch.

"What? What's wrong?" Yuki asked, following Jin's finger. "Oh. That's my daughter. Isn't she cute?" Yuki proudly _asked_ as her eyes started to sparkle.

Jin shook his head. "HA? What do you mean 'no', Jin-chan?" Yuki wrathfully asked making the busy Erika turn into their direction.

Ritsu innocently groaned in her sleep. "Mom?" she mumbled while rubbing her eyes.

"You shouldn't have said that Jin-kun. That's divine retribution for 'ya." Erika mumbled.

"No! I mean—that's my daughter right there." Three pairs of eyes looked down at the still sleeping little Aki.

"Ah. Ritsu's up."

"Really?" Yuki inquire as she looked at Aki, Jin, and then back to the small girl once again. "You don't look alike."

"She took after my wife." Jin answered, walking towards Ritsu and Aki. "Thank you for taking care of her." Jin thanked the still groggy Ritsu before taking the small girl into his arms.

"No problem at all." Ritsu muttered as she eyed the sleeping girl on Jin's arms.

"Well then. I better go now since this little kid needs to be in bed now." Jin smiled before heading to the door. "I'll see you tomorrow Yuki-sensei."

"Yeah," Yuki mumbled, still studying the father and daughter in front of her.

"You too, Erika-sensei." Jin waved before closing the door.

"Agh." Ritsu groaned whilst stretching at the couch. "What took you so long?" Ritsu addressed her mother that was still staring at the door. "Mom?" she called out once more.

"Heh? Oh! I got held up with the first years." Yuki tore her eyes off the closed door. "Where's Mugi-chan?" she asked as she looked around her daughter as if the short girl could hide what she was looking for. "Did you two have a fight?" Yuki instinctively asked. Whenever Ritsu was, expect Mugi to be there, or vice versa. It was like an unwritten rule around.

"What? No! She's got piano lessons today." Ritsu answered as she casually reached for her book bag. "Let's go home?"

"I see. That's fine that you two are not fighting then. Let me get my purse first." Yuki agreed before grabbing her purse by the door. "We'll go ahead, Eri-chan!" Yuki happily waved at her busy co-doctor.

"See' ya."

"Shall we get Mugi-chan on the way?" Yuki opened the door for her daughter.

"Yes please."

* * *

A lone girl wearing leggings underneath her black mini skirt was sitting around the public fountain. Her tank top proudly hugged every curves of her body. Envy was evident in her eyes as she watched couples after couples passed by her. She blushed when her eyes fell upon two college students necking just beside her. She immediately looked away with a light blush across her perfect smooth skin.

_Sigh. I wish I could be lovey dovey with Mi—_

"Did you wait long, senpai?" Mio asked in between huff. The obsidian haired girl was wearing a casual mini skirt paired with a printed, long white v-neck shirt that was precariously deep.

"Mio-chan!" Hazel eyes flickered as it fell upon Mio's body. Sokabe Megumi blushed when her eyes noticed Mio's exposed neck. She immediately diverted her eyes away from _dangerous_ features of the well-endowed girl in front of her.

"Senpai!" Emi and Yuko chorused as they stepped out behind Mio.

"Eh?" Megumi gaped; baffled at the two girls she did not expect to see. "You're here too?" Megumi mumbled in shock. She was expecting to spend this nice Sunday alone with Mio and to say that she was surprised by the two's presence was an understatement.

"I invited them too. That's fine, right, senpai?" Mio asked, oblivious to the other girl's predicament.

"Ehehe," Megumi awkwardly laughed before nodding slowly.

"Yay!" Emi beamed as she linked her arms with Mio. Yuko and Megumi watched whilst the two happily strode towards the ticket booth.

"I'm sorry, Sokabe-senpai. I know you want to be alone with Mio but we wanted to see the movie too." Yuko grinned at the defeated Megumi.

Megumi sighed before smiling back to Yuko. "It's fine." _There goes my date with Mio-tan down on the drainage._

* * *

The sun was pompously shining at its highest point of the day. Every person inside the Tainaka family house was up and about except for the still peacefully sleeping brunette.

"Oneechan? Are you awake?" There was a knock accompanied by the husky voice behind the door to Ritsu's room. "I'm coming in." The soft creaking sound of the opening door echoed throughout the spacious western room.

A young handsome man in his early twenties slowly made to the bed in the middle of the room. "Oneechan?" he asked, softly stirring his sleeping sister. He sighed when the only reaction he got was a groan. He walked towards the window, widely opening the curtain of the room.

"Wake up!" he shouted whilst pulling the thin sheets away from the sleeping woman. He smirked when a curled up Ritsu greeted him. "Oneechan~! Wake up!" he shouted once more.

Ritsu shuddered. "Ungh. What is it, Satoshi?" Ritsu asked as she sloppily sat up on the center of the bed. "Why is it so bright in here?" She lifted her left hand over her face, blocking the heated rays of the sun.

"It's already noon. You've got to wake up." He said before grabbing Ritsu in the arm. "Come on! Lunch's all ready. You're the only one we're waiting for. And I'm already hungry." As if to prove his point, his stomach growled on cue.

"You could've eaten without me." Ritsu groaned as she let her younger brother drag her out of bed and into the hallway. She was still wearing her sleeping clothes while her bed hair comically stuck to every direction.

"Dad's here."

"Ehhhh~" Ritsu whined before entering the dining area of the house.

"She's here!" Satoshi announced once they stepped near the table.

Ritsu watched her brother took the seat beside the family head. "Good morning." Ritsu yawned before sluggishly taking the seat beside her mother.

"'Good morning?' It's already afternoon, Ritsu." Ritsu looked at the man sitting at the head of the table. He was wearing a white long-sleeved polo that beautifully flattered his yellow necktie. Ritsu stared at her old man. He watched as the famous figure of the TNK Mousiké elegantly took a sip on his tea. Ritsu inwardly jerked when her father's sturdy brown eyes met her amber orbs. "You better stop acting so carefree. You're not a child anymore. You've got a lot of responsibilities in your hand."

"Sorry." Ritsu automatically mumbled as she looked down at her own lunch. Ritsu idly poked her chicken Diane in front of her as a sigh escaped from her mouth. She glared at her left when she heard her mother snickered discreetly. Of course, her mother would love to see her eaten alive by her father. _Great_.

"So, how's work, Ritsu?" Tainaka Souichiro asked his only daughter. His deep voice could almost cause the whole room to shake.

"It's fine." Ritsu mumbled softly before taking a mouthful of chicken. _Blegh. It doesn't taste as good as how Mio does it._

"That's it? 'Fine?' I heard you're substituting at your old high school. And please stop poking your food. It is unbecoming."

Ritsu sighed again. "Yes. Just for a couple of months. Five months top." Ritsu took a bite of the steamed asparagus.

"I don't see why you are wasting your time in there." Souichiro sharply commented, making Ritsu wince. "Can you even guide these students when even your own life is a mess?" Ritsu winced once more. His father sure is not in a good mood today.

Satoshi, in pain, watched in the sidelines as he looked back and forth from his father and sister. He sweated nervously when he noticed his father glower at his older sister. Satoshi anxiously watched Ritsu as he prepared himself to get in between the two in case his sister decided to pounce on their old man. "Da—"

"Maa, Sou-chan." Yuki intervened just before Satoshi got the chance to do so. "It's only temporary. And I think this would be a good life experience for Ricchan." She soothed her husband.

"Hn." Souichiro sneered at his daughter before standing up. "It's fine then. She could use all the experience she could get to straighten her life." He finished before throwing his napkin over his unfinished food. "I need to go now. I have a meeting in half an hour." Souichiro spared another glance at his daughter before exiting the room.

"Have a safe trip!" Yuki cheerfully sent her husband off before looking to her right. "That went well." She smiled at her daughter.

Ritsu sighed for the nth time since waking up in not even half an hour ago. "Yeah, sure." Ritsu pushed her plate aside as she rested her head on the table. "Dad sure is into me so early in the morning." Ritsu glance at her brother and smiled when she saw Satoshi released the breath he did not know he was holding.

"Maa. He's just worried about you." Yuki assured her daughter.

"If that's how he gets worried, I don't want him worrying for me at all." Satoshi commented before biting onto his chicken breast.

"You can't blame him—us. You two are living so far away from home." Yuki pouted. "And you barely visit us anymore. You won't even go unless I don't stop pestering you into coming." Yuki looked at Satoshi then to Ritsu. She smiled when she noticed her children's guilty faces.

"This is not our home. Tokyo is." Ritsu mumbled. "You guys are the one who left. Not us."

"That's partly true." Yuki agreed. "But isn't it that you two are the ones who did not want to come with us?"

"But mom! We've got our life in Tokyo. I go to med school there and oneechan works there. It's not like we could just come with you and leave everything back there." Satoshi reasoned. Ritsu nodded, in agreement, vigorously.

"That's true too. But I can't just leave your father alone here in Kyoto, can I?"Yuki asked as she looked at her two fully-grown kids. "Right?" She specifically addressed Ritsu. Ritsu gaped at her mother before timidly nodding. "And it's not like I could stay away from your father that long. Some people are adept to long distance relationships and some," Yuki paused before looking back at Ritsu. "And there are also some people who undergo self-destruction when their love ones are away for long periods of time."

"Yeah," Ritsu muttered in agreement to her mother's statement.

"But then again, it's not like you two could always stay and live with us, right? Besides, you two are already at the age where you create your _own_ home with the people you love. Speaking of which," Yuki eyed her youngest child mischievously. "I heard someone's getting it on from a certain restaurateur." She stated, successfully changing the serious mood around the table.

"Mom!" the two chorused harmonically albeit the different tones. Satoshi stared at his mother with eyes as wide as the plate on the table while Ritsu had this 'seriously?' tone.

"Tha-that's so disgusting!" Satoshi shuddered as he looked as his mother disbelievingly.

"What's so disgusting about it?" Yuki's eyes sparkled at her son's embarrassment.

"This is—we are so not talking about my sex life!" Satoshi shouted, making the two women laugh their hearts out.

"Haa… Oh god. I can't... stop..." Ritsu said in between laughs as she clutched on ther stomach.

"I always liked the youngest Hirasawa. She's all a mother-in-law could ask—"

"Mom!" Satoshi rebuked, efficiently cutting her mother's more embarrassing remarks. "And oneechan! You'll die if you laugh that hard!" Ritsu raised her hands in defeat. She bit on her lips to avoid another course of laughter. "God!" Satoshi mumbled, his face was beet red.

"Hai. Hai. I'm zipping my lips now!" Yuki playfully zipped her lips.

"Excuse me, Yuki-sama." Another voice interrupted the humorous moment of the family.

"What is it, Akari-chan?" Yuki wiped the tears on the corner of her eyes.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but Ana-sama is already waiting for you at the deck." Akari bowed before heading back to the kitchen.

"Great timing! Ana-chan's already he—" Yuki turned to look at her daughter only to find no Tainaka Ritsu in the chair. "Ricchan," Yuki ominously called her daughter. Satoshi smirked as she looked at his sister who stopped on her tracks. "Where do you think you are going?" Yuki turned around to face Ritsu.

Ritsu gulped when she saw her mother's ominous smile. "I, ah. I need to be somewhere." Ritsu poorly excused while pointing towards the door.

"No you don't." Yuki stood up and walked towards her daughter. "Come have tea with me and Ana-chan." Yuki immediately hooked her arms on Ritsu, preventing the younger Tainaka to escape.

Ritsu looked back at her younger brother as her mother towed her. "Help me!" Ritsu mouthed to her brother.

Satoshi smirked at his sister's dilemma. "You deserve that for laughing at me!" he mouthed back before laughing back in the dining table.

* * *

"I know! I squealed too much I think I'm losing my voice." Emi stated happily as they talked about the summer concert she'd seen. Yuko and Megumi eagerly listened to Emi's stories whilst Mio idly poke her velvety strawberry cake.

"Hm?" Megumi hummed, cocking her head to the right as she looked at the silent girl beside her. "What's wrong?" Emi and Yuko stopped talking and looked at their spaced out friend. "Mio-chan?" Megumi softly touched Mio's shoulder.

"Heh?" Mio looked up at the other three occupants of the table. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you're okay." Megumi patiently repeated.

"Ye-yeah, I'm fine." Mio stammered. "Why'd you ask?" She looked at Emi and Yuko.

"Mio-chin, you've been poking your cake for a while now. Did you not like it?" Emi asked as she pointed at the barely half-eaten caked on Mio's plate. Mio shook her head.

"Are you full?" Megumi inquired. Mio shook her head once more. To tell the truth, she hadn't eaten for the day yet, but somehow, her appetite left her.

"Diet then?" Yuko asked this time. "That's the only other reason I could think of."

"I'm not dieting either."

"But Mio-chin! That's your favourite cake! And it's really, really, REALLY good too!" Emi reasoned. Her face inched closer to Mio with every word.

"You can have the rest then." Mio casually pushed the plate away from her as she looked at the street outside.

Yuko dramatically gasped, making three pairs of eyes look at her direction. "My god! You aren't dying are you, Mio?"

"Mio-chin~!"

"What! No!" Mio laughed softly. "I'm fine, really you guys." Mio assured her friends as she drifted off for the second time of the day.

"_After you," Ritsu opened the door to Linden Café, playfully bowing her head when Mio walked passed her._

"_My aren't you gallant, Ritsu." Mio humouredly complimented before stepping inside the café. "It smells really good in here."_

"_Right? Their cakes are really good here." Ritsu pointed at the far corner of the shop. "You go ahead and sit. I'll place our orders."_

"_I really like it here." Mio admitted as she looked at the cheerful kids playing across the streets. "Did you ever live here?" Mio looked at the woman in front of her. It was the first time Mio saw her teacher with her hair completely down. Ritsu's fringes of hair were touching the black rims of her eyeglasses. Mio slightly flushed when she met Ritsu's intense amber eyes. 'Why does she always look at me straight in the eyes?'_

"_Me? No." Ritsu shook her head. Her brunette bangs jiggled across her face. "I never lived here."_

"_Huh? But you said your family—"_

"_My dad's family's from here. But my mom's a Tokyo native and so do I. I just go here during vacations and holidays" Ritsu intervened._

_Mio nodded. "I see."_

"_Here's your strawberry cake and tea," Mio looked up to the server. The girl, that was not much older than she is, smiled at her. She nodded her head meekly, taking the cake with a small smile on her face._

_Mio observed around the café. It impressed her that eyes, men and women alike, were gaping at the server. 'What an eye-catcher. Everyone's looking at her. I bet Ritsu's looking too—' Mio thought before directing her attention to the teacher sitting in front of her. Mio's thought's halted when her obsidian eyes met Ritsu's alluring amber eyes._

"_Wha-what?" Mio blushed when she realized Ritsu's gaze never left her. "Is there something on my face?"_

"_What? No, I was just looking." Ritsu grinned at her._

"_Are you sure?" Mio cautiously narrowed her eyes on Ritsu. "There's nothing on my face that you would laugh about later?" Mio asked once again, completely aware of Ritsu's impish nature._

"_No! Really. There's nothing." Ritsu laughed as she watched Mio look at her reflection on the back of her phone._

"_Hi, I'm Maya. Here's your red velvet cake with a cup of tea, Miss?" Mio watched as Maya flirtatiously leaned forward towards Ritsu._

"_Hm? Yeah, sure." Ritsu responded dryly._

_Maya's eye twitched at Ritsu's lack of interest. "Is that everything you need?" Maya asked, adorably tilting her head to the right. Mio swore she just heard someone fell on their seat._

'_Is she-is she hitting on Ritsu?' Mio looked at Maya then to Ritsu. Ritsu was idly sipping her tea, as if the young brunette does not care about the rest of the world._

"_No we're good." Ritsu casually responded, not even bothering to look at Maya. "You don't need anything else, do you?" Mio mildly jumped on her seat. She slightly shook her head at Ritsu's question._

_Maya sighed, squeezing the tray in frustration. "Enjoy your meal. Just call me if you need anything else." _

_Mio watched Maya walk away from their table it amused her at how many catcalls the young server had gotten from the short distance between their table and the counter."She's really pretty, huh?"_

"_Who?" Ritsu looked up from her cake._

"_The girl who brought the cakes and tea." Mio answered before taking a spoonful of her favourite cake._

_Ritsu sipped her tea. "Really? I barely noticed her."_

"_I figured that much." Mio mumbled softly before looking at Ritsu. "You have an icing on your cheek." Mio instinctively reached forward with a napkin on her hand._

"_Thanks," Ritsu muttered when Mio wiped the said icing on her cheek. "Is strawberry cake your favourite?" Ritsu asked whilst watching Mio happily munching._

"_Yeah!" Mio eagerly took another bite. "I can eat it everyday and not get sick of it."_

"_You're gonna get fat." Ritsu teased. She laughed when Mio suddenly stopped eating to look at her with big teary and unbelieving obsidian eyes. "I'm just kidding! You're fine just the way you are." Ritsu grinned. "Come on. Eat as much as you want."_

Megumi curiously looked at the streets after Mio chuckled to herself. Was there anything funny?

* * *

Ritsu uncomfortably fidgeted under the gaze of her mother's best friend. She inwardly twitched when she heard her mother giggle. _Why does she always have to laugh at my expense?_

"I just didn't see you for a couple of months and you've grown to be quiet, Ricchan." Soft angelic voice filled the air.

Ritsu laughed awkwardly. "Well…" she trailed as she looked at her mother for help. _Dammit, this old hag_. She inwardly cursed when she saw her mother snickered at the back of her teacup. She let out a sigh of relief when Ana suddenly changed the topic and addressed the other Tainaka on the table. The two spent a good two hours of chatting until Ritsu decided she had enough sitting still. The impatient brunette was about to excuse herself from the boredom when her mother suddenly spoke.

"Excuse me. I have to go make some more tea." Yuki said as she placed the bow empty teacups and teapot on the tray. "Ricchan, be a good company to Ana-chan while I make some more." She winked at her daughter before disappearing inside the house, making her daughter glare at her. Ritsu's glare intensified when she heard her mother laugh her out heart inside the house. What was so funny about being tormented by Ana's glances anyway?

"How are you doing these couple of months, Ricchan?" the soft voice snapped Ricchan away from looking at the door where her mother entered. Ritsu could not help but winced at the very familiar voice of the older woman in front of her, which, much to her disappointment resembles someone else's.

"I-I'm fine… I guess?" Ritsu muttered before scratching the back of her neck.

"Fufufu. You still got that mannerism of scratching your nape when your troubled, Ricchan," Ana mused as she studied the young woman before her. "You haven't changed since I knew you."

"You too, Ana-san," Ritsu could not help but smile at some of the memories she shared with the blond woman in front of her.

Ana immediately scowled at the amber eyed Tainaka. "I really miss the old you," Ana sighed as she uncharacteristically rested her head on her right hand. "You always used to call me 'okaasan' too."

Ritsu's eyes slowly widened at the older woman's remark. Red slowly crawled into her perfectly white face. "Wha-!Why-!" Ritsu spluttered gibberish, her arms flailing in half-embarrassment and half-frustration.

Ana gasped at Ritsu before laughing heartily, "Maa, Ricchan. You're still as cute as ever." Ana winked at the flustered brunette. "No wonder she fell in lo—"

"Ana-san!" Ritsu reprimanded the very playful mother.

"Hai, hai." Ana raised her hands in defeat. "Mou, I was just teasing since it's been so long," Ana pouted.

"I'm sorry." Ritsu mumbled, making Ana look at her.

Perfectly shaped eyebrows rose at Ritsu's apology. Ana pondered if the young Tainaka apologized for being away or some other reason she was quite aware of. "Ne, Ricchan." Ana turned her head to the right, looking at the flowers that decorated the deck. "When was the last time you've seen my granddaughter?"Ritsu's amber eyes looked at Ana for a few seconds before looking down.

The two spent the next couple of seconds in utter silence. Ana turned her attention back to Ritsu when she received no response from the 25-year-old. She observed Ritsu's eyes, looking deep for any emotions that her amber orbs reflected. Ana's eyes softened when she noticed the sadness in Ritsu's eyes. And was that a hint of discomfiture?

"Ricc—"

"Last year," Ritsu finally answered, her eyes still found the table interesting, "I saw Chiaki last during her birthday."

Ana looked at Ritsu in shock, she had no idea that it had been so long, considering the fact that little Chiaki was really attached to her. "You didn't see them on Christmas?" Ritsu shook her head. Ana noticed Ritsu biting her lower lip. "I see." Ana mumbled softly. "She's gotten quite big, you know." Ana smiled when Ritsu suddenly looked at her. "She had gotten pretty talkative too. Like someone I know." She winked at Ritsu. Ana's smile widened in recollection of her last meeting with her granddaughter. "I just saw her last week when Ken-chan and I visited them."

"Really?" Ritsu breathed.

Ana nodded. "Are you planning on visiting them sometime?"

"Yeah. I'll go see them when it's convenient for the both of us."

Ana smiled at the woman she treated like her own daughter. "I'm sure Chiaki-chan will be happy to see you." She paused whilst looking at Ritsu straight in the eye. "And I'm sure my daughter too."

"Yeah, I hope so." Ritsu could not help the small smile forming on her face.

* * *

"I guess I'll see you at school?" Megumi asked as she stood by the door.

"Yeah, thank you for inviting me today." Mio nodded.

Megumi looked at Mio for some more seconds before she started to speak. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little off today." Megumi studied the quiet girl some more. Mio had been awful quiet than her usual self. The obsidian haired girl would just suddenly stare off somewhere and would be absent-minded the next second.

"I guess I'm just tired." Mio smiled at the older girl in front of her.

"Okay, if you say so." Megumi smiled back whilst stepping away from Mio. "Bye."

Mio watched the brunette walk towards the street. She was about to go inside the house when she heard loud footsteps from behind coming near her.

"Mio!" Megumi huffed. "I-I forgot to give this to you." Megumi fished a small rectangular box from her purse before handing it to the obsidian haired girl before her.

"Heh?" Mio gasped at the box.

"I-ah. I got this souvenir for you." Megumi said shyly.

"Oh!" Mio hesitantly took the box. If this had happened any other day, Mio would be elated. But somehow, she does feel something missing. "Thank you. I'm sorry but I didn't get you anything from Kyoto. I didn't have time to—"

"It's fine." Megumi interrupted the girl. "I'm not expecting for something in return anyway." She smiled.

"Thank you, senpai. I'll see you later." Mio smiled one last time before closing the door.

* * *

"Oneechan! Hurry up!" Satoshi shouted. "You knew we're leaving today and yet you chose to pack on the last minute."

"Just wait!" Ritsu shouted back as she sloppily pushed her things into her duffle bag. "Honestly, you're very impatient." Ritsu complained as she stepped out of her room.

"I want to go home as soon as possible. I still got an early class tomorrow." Satoshi reasoned, walking past her sister. "Let's go. Hurry up."

"Hai, hai." Ritsu casually carried her bag on her shoulder whilst tailing Satoshi towards the car. "Mom? What are you doing here?" Ritsu asked as she looked at her mom on the driver seat.

"I thought I'd see you off at the station." Yuki smiled at her children.

Ritsu and Satoshi looked at each other then to their mother. "Fine," they chorused as they elatedly enter the sedan car.

"Say," Yuki started as she took a turn on the very busy intersection. "Let's visit Seiji as a family before you go home."

There was an alarming silence as Satoshi instinctively studied her sister. Yuki took a glance to her left where her oldest was sitting. Ritsu had her head rested on her left hand as she idly look at the streets. "It's fine, I guess."

The oldest Tainaka parked the sedan to the nearest empty spot. "Here we go. Who's going to bu—"

"I'll go buy some flowers. You guys can go ahead." Ritsu interrupted her mother as she hurriedly opened the door and jog towards the flower shop near the entrance.

Yuki looked at her daughter's back with soft, caring eyes. "Shall we go, Sacchan?"

"Ee," Satoshi murmured as his eyes glued to her sister's back.

Yuki and Satoshi were walking on the green land of the lot as they looked at the different stones with names written on it. They both stopped at a certain spot, just in time when a running Ritsu caught up.

Yuki and Satoshi watched as Ritsu replaced a pot of Chrysanthemum on the ground before lighting some incense sticks. Ritsu looked down at the tombstone.

_Tainaka Seiji_

_19**-20**_

_A loving son and friend that would always be remembered._

"Shall we pray?" Yuki asked the two who nodded. Satoshi and Yuki simultaneously closed their eyes while Ritsu remained on her position.

_Seiji. _Ritsu ran her fingers against the hard, cold stone.

"_Ricchan~" a sweet whining voice called out from behind. "Come on, please?" Ritsu sighed before turning around to the woman peeving her for quite some time now. "Pretty please?" Ritsu inwardly winced as those big dark blue eyes stared up on her._

_Ritsu sighed for the nth time. "Fine. But if Seiji asks I won't tell a lie, okay?"_

"_Yay! I love you!" The woman with long wavy hair pecked Ritsu on the cheek._

"_Hai, hai."_

_Two pairs of eyes instinctively looked at the door when they heard someone gasped dramatically. Ritsu could not help but roll her eyes on her cousin. "What a traitor!" Seiji childishly pointed at his cousin. "I treated you like my sister and I get this?" Seiji faked a sob behind his hands._

_The woman in front of Ritsu giggled. "Stop teasing your cousin, Seiji-kun."_

"_I was just gone for a while and you're hitting on my girlfrien—" Seiji did not get to finish his sentence as a slightly square pillow hit his face._

"_Shut up, Seiji. That's so stupid." Ritsu laughed as she avoided the pillow Seiji was throwing at her. "This blond here is head over heels in love with you."_

_That bastard. Leaving just like that._ Ritsu snapped back when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see her mother's soft understanding eyes looking at her.

"Let's go get you to the station?" Yuki asked her daughter.

Ritsu nodded as she looked back at the gravestone. "Yeah. Let's go." Ritsu stood up and followed her mother and brother. She stopped in her tracks to spend another glance at her cousin's tomb.

_See you later, Seiji. I visited you already so don't visit me, okay?_ Ritsu thought humorously whilst chuckling to herself.

* * *

**A/N: Some of the flashbacks are supposed to be included in Chapter 6. But as you all now, the last chapter was longer than I expected. That's why I made some adjustments and got longer than I intended.**

**So, what did you guys think? Oh yeah! Have some Oreo cookies for those who guessed that Seiji's dead! Good job! Lol. Anyway, I'm thinking of finishing this on 10 chapters. Let's pray that I could write the next chapter faster! Lol ^_-**

**Gonna leave a review? No? Just a little? No? How about you give me chocolate? No? Damn! ^_-**

**P.S. I have a poll on my account. If you have time, I would like to know what you think of it. It concerns some of fanfiction ideas, so.. yeah. Thanks for reading!  
**


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